Brandon Jennings recently appeared on The Big Podcast with Shaq to explain his now-infamous comment calling Jayson Tatum “the softest Celtics superstar ever.” Jennings explained the context behind why he said it earlier.
"I said Tatum was the softest Celtics superstar ever, but I never said he wasn't great."
"I guess I'm going off because of Jaylen Brown getting Finals MVPs and Eastern Conference, and this is supposed to be your team in your moment."
"That's just like when you went to the Finals, and if Kobe would have got Finals MVP, it would have been looking like kind of like, well, Shaq ain't really like, you would be just looking like, well, Shaq ain't really like that, like when it comes down to it."
"So for a Celtics superstar, you know, and the toughness and what the Celtics bring, you know, if you go back to McHale, if you go back to Larry Bird and KG and all those guys, you know, it was just a different type of dog. So, but that doesn't mean that he's not a great player. I just, you know, as far as what a Celtics."
But that logic crumbles quickly under scrutiny. If Finals MVPs are the bar for toughness, would Jennings argue Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was soft for not winning during Magic Johnson’s rise? Or that Magic was soft when James Worthy won in 1988?
Jennings’ remarks aren't just historically tone-deaf, they reek of the usual generational gatekeeping: glorify the past, disrespect the present. It’s a tired trope.
Tatum didn’t take the insult lightly, though he responded with calm confidence. He clapped back with an Instagram post mocking Jennings' quote, captioned: “SoFtesT SuPeRstar in CeLtiC HiStoRy,” paired with a laughing emoji.
His point was made loud and clear: he’s not here to get into wars of words—he’ll let his game do the talking.
At just 26, he’s already a six-time All-Star, four-time First-Team All-NBA selection, and a two-time Olympic gold medalist. His leadership and consistent dominance have guided Boston to the Eastern Conference Finals multiple times and the NBA Finals twice. That’s not softness. That’s sustained excellence.
Even Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla jumped to his star’s defense with a humorous but poignant take. Referencing his “coin combat” analogy, Mazzulla said Jennings’ comment was worth using a challenge coin on.
Patrick Beverley even turned the tables on Jennings, saying he thought he was soft when they played.
In the end, Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum will have a chance to show exactly how soft he is, because he’ll most likely miss the entire 2025–26 NBA season while recovering from a torn Achilles.
And when he returns in 2026, he'll get the perfect opportunity to prove just how soft he really is, by trying to carry Boston back to contention on one leg. If sarcasm could heal injuries, Tatum might already be back on the court.
But since it doesn’t, the league will just have to wait and see what this “softest Celtics superstar ever” looks like when he comes back with something to prove.
