Charles Barkley says the NBA screwed up by upsetting Tatum and Brown: “Let’s piss off two of the top-10 players in the NBA as they’re coming off a championship”

The Boston Celtics are coming off a dominant 2023/24 campaign. They racked up a league-best 64-18 record and only lost three games en route to their first championship since 2008.

Jaylen Brown won the Finals MVP, while Jayson Tatum had some good performances despite being the primary focus of the defensive sets. The duo received quite a bit of criticism after the championship as JB was left out of the Team USA squad for the 2024 Paris Olympics, while JT’s position as one of the best players in the league was doubted due to his struggles in the Playoffs.

Charles Barkley thinks the NBA community is making a mistake because they are further motivating the Celtics core ahead of the 2024/25 season.

“They were already terrific players… They are the defending champs, that’s gonna take their confidence to another level. The NBA has found ways to piss them off this summer, how about that,” Barkley said on The Bill Simmons Podcast. “Only the NBA can do that. Let’s piss off two of the top-10 players in the NBA as they’re coming off a championship.”

The Celtics are left mostly unchanged

What makes the Celtics such a scary team ahead of their title defense year is that they have retained most of the roster. Yeah, bench players like Svi Mykhailiuk and Oshae Brissett are not with the team anymore, but most of the core members are still there.

The two Jays lead the line, but important players like Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, and Al Horford are ready to step up when needed the most. Boston maintained its depth as Coach Joe Mazzulla will keep developing his rotations and improving his sets on both ends of the floor.

This continuity is what the Celtics need ahead of their title defense. Sticking to what was successful could lead them to another championship, something the 2023 champions, the Denver Nuggets, did not do. They had a solid core, but letting go of Bruce Brown and Jeff Green led to them losing much-needed depth for a successful title defense.

Boston is learning from Denver’s mistake, as Mazzulla’s team looks to become the first team to win back-to-back titles since the Golden State Warriors in 2017 and 2018.

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Tatum and Brown have chips on their shoulders

Despite being two of the best players in the league, Tatum and Brown are still not given the respect they deserve. They have been superb as a duo since they started playing together in 2017. The two Jays have developed well alongside each other as two-way wings who are elite on both ends of the floor.

Both of them are ready to prove everyone wrong, especially with the disrespect they had this offseason, with Team USA snubbing Brown and JT not getting the minutes he deserved at the Olympic tournament.

Barkley makes a great point because the rest of the NBA should be on the lookout for what the Celtics are capable of. This team is hungry for more championships now that they have tasted the sweet joy of winning it all.

Related: Charles Barkley on why Paul George is set to shine in Philly: “He’s only got to be the third-best player on the team”