On a recent episode of 7PM in Brooklyn, a podcast hosted by former NBA star Carmelo Anthony and The Kid Mero, Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum got brought up in a conversation about “aura.” Effectively the new term for swagger, recent months have seen the term used as a way to describe how cool or likeable a player is.

And apparently, Tatum doesn’t fit the criteria.

“The reason why we put Anthony Edwards there is because of his aura. If Jayson Tatum had that aura, it’s over,” said Anthony.

This discourse follows months and months of hate toward Tatum. From him not celebrating hard enough when Jaylen Brown won Eastern Conference finals MVP to his post-NBA Finals actions being called cringe, every time the Celtics star does anything, it’s been criticized.

Almost anyone who’s not a Celtics fan has jumped on the bandwagon of making fun of Tatum, and it’s completely unwarranted. As the Edwards, Shai Gilgeous-Alexanders, and Kevin Durants of the world entertain in the media, with brand deals, and on social media alike, Tatum just does his own thing.

The public has completely lost the plot.

Slandering Jayson Tatum for aura is completely ridiculous

Tatum is a basketball player. He’s not a reality TV star (yet…), he’s not an influencer, and he’s a comedian. He’s a hooper.

At the end of the day, that’s what he’s paid millions to do, and last year, his play resulted in a championship for the city of Boston.

For all the talk about aura, Tatum’s off-the-court life is what fans should want for their star player. All Tatum wants to do is hoop, hang out with his son, and chill. There are no antics, there are no clubbing scandals, there are no speeding tickets, leaked text messages, or bad stories. He’s just a normal guy.

This obsession with aura is completely ridiculous. But the reality is that it’s always going to be brought up.

Tatum’s never going to match Edwards’ outspokenness, Gilgeous-Alexander’s charisma, or Durant’s hilarious presence on Twitter. And he shouldn’t have to. He just has to be himself.

When he yelled out, “We did it!” after the Finals, people were so quick to accuse him of trying to create a viral moment. But maybe, just maybe, he was in legitimate shock that he finally accomplished what he had always dreamed of. Some went at him for how he acted when Brown won ECF and Finals MVP, but maybe he’s just a reserved individual.

No two people are the same, and, as they say, comparison is the thief of joy.

Tatum doesn’t need aura. It’s not counted in the box score, and the Celtics certainly didn’t take it int account when they signed him to an NBA-record contract extension.

The discourse surrounding Tatum has gone completely off the rails, and people should simply appreciate the incredible basketball player and person that he is.