The Boston Celtics are cruising toward the NBA playoffs, looking once again like good bets to repeat as NBA champions despite some stiffer competition as compared to last year. Jayson Tatum is a lock to make another First Team All-NBA appearance this year, and Boston is locked into the two seed behind only the Cleveland Cavaliers in the East.

Despite his incredible resume, much has been made of the perceived disrespect of Tatum, whether it was his snub of NBA Finals MVP honors or his low usage with Team USA at the Olympics this summer.

Recently, NBA insider Brian Windhorst of ESPN took to First Take to relay why he doesn't buy the notion that Tatum is disrespected.

“What he went through was winning an NBA Championship, making All-NBA for the fourth consecutive time, cementing the fact that he’s going to be in the NBA Hall of Fame,” said Windhorst. “Then he went through signing the largest contract in the history of the NBA. Then he went through winning a gold medal in one of the most competitive tournaments ever. He happened to have a very good Finals. He led the Celtics in scoring, assists, and rebounds.”

Windhorst also noted that “he had a very poor shooting summer. This is how many three pointers he made for Team USA, he made zero. He made zero in the run up games, he made zero in the pool play games, he made zero in the knockout stage. He couldn’t hit a shot,” explaining Steve Kerr's decision to bench him at times.

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A wild ride for Jayson Tatum

Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) shoots the ball while being defended by Brooklyn Nets forward Cameron Johnson (2) during the second half at Barclays Center.
John Jones-Imagn Images

As Windhorst noted, it would be hard to put together a better summer, at least on paper, than what Tatum experienced. He won his first NBA championship with the Celtics, signed the richest contract in the NBA, and then won a Gold Medal with Team USA.

Having to deal with Twitter trolls or the occasional Steve Kerr disrespect would seemingly be a small price to pay.

Still, there are times when it feels like fans don't truly appreciate the Hall of Fame resume Tatum has already put together with the Celtics at the age of 27.