MOLLY QERIM has come out in support of Jayson Tatum – and claims he’s the face of the modern NBA.
The Boston Celtics star, 26, believes his exploits on the court have not garnered enough respect.
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Tatum is a six-time All-Star and has won both an NBA championship and Olympic gold.
But despite his accolades, the former No. 3 overall pick believes he gets overlooked to be the “face of the NBA.”
“Honestly, no [I don’t feel appreciated],” he told The Washington Post last month.
“If you took the name and the face away from all my accomplishments and you’re just like ‘This is what this Player A accomplished at 26,’ people would talk about [me] a lot differently.”
ESPN’s First Take discussed the interview on a segment on February 24.
And host Molly declared that not only is Tatum underappreciated, but she believes he’s LeBron James’ successor as face of the sport.
“I feel like [the next face of the NBA] is Jayson Tatum,” Qerim said.
“He wants to be remembered, eventually, alongside the greats like Kevin Durant, LeBron, Steph Curry.”
“He’s one of them,” chimed in her co-star Stephen A. Smith.
“I mean look how many commercials and everything. So I don’t really totally understand the disrespect,” continued Qerim.
“I think he’s this generations face of the NBA.”
“Molly cooking here,” said one fan in response on X.
“She isn’t wrong,” agreed a second.
“He’s good but not the face bro lol,” said another.
“If Tatum is the face of the league NBA basketball is cooked,” declared a fourth.
First Take viewing figures
First Take went from strength to strength under the guidance of Stephen A. Smith and Molly Qerim last year.
The weekday ESPN debate show averaged 496,000 viewers in 2023 – making it the most-watched year in program history.
Its December average of 611,000 was a 24% year-on-year increase compared to 2022.
The show also reported more than 250 million views on YouTube.
First Take was helped by the addition of Shannon Sharpe alongside Smith and Qerim after he left Fox Sports’ Undisputed.
First Take analyst Shannon Sharpe agreed with Molly’s point.
But the former NFL star claimed nobody can become the league’s ‘face’ until LeBron retires.
“I don’t know why people can’t get behind him as being one of the faces, if not the face, of the NBA,” Sharpe said.
“We keep trying to push other guys to the forefront and none of those guys are as accomplished as he is.
“As far as winning, and he’s been winning since he got into the league.
“I do think he’s undervalued. But it’s still, for me, it’s still LeBron.”