NBA players read about their negative press more often than they tend to admit, but it isn’t every day they get grilled on TV about it. But that is what happened to star Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum on a recent appearance on the “CBS Mornings” show. Asked about comments from “Inside the NBA’s” Charles Barkley suggesting the Celtics aren’t tough enough to win a title, Tatum answered diplomatically.

“I mean, you have to give the respect, right?” he asked rhetorically via MassLive’s Nick O’Malley. “Those are the guys that paved the way for the younger players like myself.”

Still, he pushed back gently. “You don’t always have to agree,” said Tatum. “But you have to, in a sense, respect it because of the work that they put in.”

“I understand that in the times that we’re in,” he added. “You can’t win it – nobody can win a championship until you do it.”

“So, nobody’s going to give us the credit until we actually do it, and that’s fine.”

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Story originally appeared on Celtics Wire