Colin Cowherd Wants So Badly To Be Jayson Tatum's "Skip Bayless" It's Getting Beyond Pathetic At This Point

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One of the more popular NBA debates that seemingly is unavoidable these days, isn't around MVP or other major awards. It's not about who is or isn't a contender or what may or may not be wrong with the league.

It's, of course, the Face Of The NBA debate.

Now, in my opinion, this is rather subjective. Is it the best player? The most charismatic player? The player who generates the most hate? For the last few decades, the answer was pretty obvious. It was LeBron James. What made him unique was that he fit all of those qualifiers, and while there have been challengers during his reign, if you were honest with yourself, the answer was LeBron.

But with his days in the league coming to an end, who is going to take the mantle? You hear names like Wemby, Anthony Edwards, Luka, etc. To the surprise of no one, my answer to this question has always been Jayson Tatum. Nobody and I mean nobody moves the needle like Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics, that's just a fact.

Naturally, for this transition to happen, Tatum is going to need his own "Skip Bayless", just like LeBron has had for his entire career. Someone whose brain is so warped by the player that he can't escape it. Everything Skip Bayless does ties back to LeBron, it's his schtick. So who could be that guy for Jayson Tatum? Simple

Colin Cowherd.

Let's just take what has happened over the last day or so. Cooper Flagg had himself a truly historic weekend in which he did things we haven't seen since LeBron and Wilt. One would think that following those back-to-back performances, he would be the topic of discussion, right? Nope, not if you're Colin Cowherd. Somehow, Cooper Flagg's 96 points in two games is actually about Jayson Tatum. No, you didn't have a brain aneurysm, you read that correctly

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Just listen to that hater ass shit. That's the Skip Bayless playbook step by step. Include a player who has nothing to do with what happened? Check. Blatantly lie and say things that aren't even true to make your point? Check. The gap between Tatum and Flagg is tiny???

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As you can imagine, the response to such a statement was what you expected. So what's the next step in the playbook? You double down

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See why Celts fans may think Jayson Tatum is the actual Face Of The NBA? He is the standard. He is who the best young prospects are being compared to. Not Luka, not Ant etc. It's honestly impressive how badly these people want to just pretend Jayson Tatum's entire career hasn't existed. As a reminder…..

- 4 straight All NBA 1st teams (would have been 5 this year)

- Most points ever scored in a Game 7

- Most playoff points scored in NBA history before turning 27

- 2x Gold Medalist

- Youngest player in NBA history with 200 playoff 3PM

- Youngest player in NBA history to achieve 600 points / 100 rebounds / 100 AST in a postseason

- 1 of 6 players ever to lead their team in points, rebounds, and assists on the way to a title

- Youngest player in NBA history to score 20 points in 4 straight playoff games

- Youngest player in NBA history to make 900 3PM and 1,000 3PM

- Tied with LeBron for the most 30/10/5 playoff games

- One of two players with 50 points and 0 TOs in a playoff game

- Scored the 2nd most playoff points as a rookie, trailing only Kareem Abdul Jabbar

- Most assists in a Finals debut in the NBA with 13

- 2nd most playoff rebounds before turning 27, trailing only Bill Russell

- 1 of 2 players in NBA history to lead a team in a playoff series in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks, joining LeBron

That's not even the full list, but I think you get the idea. The point is, to just casually play around with Jayson Tatum's name like this, as if he's not one of the most accomplished players in NBA history up to this point in his career, is about as braindead as it gets. If it were easy to do the things we've seen Tatum accomplish thus far, more people would do it! Add in the fact that no team in the NBA has more wins and playoff wins than the Celtics once they added Tatum, and I mean, what are we talking about? 

Then you remember, this has been Cowherd's goal for a while now. He so desperately wants to be Tatum's "Skip Bayless" he simply can't help himself

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I mean, this is the LeBron playbook! I suppose it does make some sense considering Tatum is the most complete wing the NBA has seen since LeBron entered the NBA, but that doesn't make it any less embarrassing the same way it's always cringey when Skip Bayless does this stuff with LeBron.

 Honestly, this is how you know Tatum is truly back. Sure the All NBA 1st Team production in his first 14 games back from injury could have told you. Sure the Celtics being 12-2 in those 14 games with Tatum could have told you. But no no, this is it. This is how you know we're back. Let's not forget, during the title run THIS was the conversation after Tatum had 36/12/4 in a WIN

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and there is no truer sign we're back to normal than the return of extreme Jayson Tatum Derangement Syndrome. 

So debate who the Face Of The NBA is all you want, the answer is very clearly Jayson Tatum.