While it was not easy by any means, Team USA was able to claim their fifth straight gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. Led by Stephen Curry, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant, the Americans once again proved to everyone that they are still on top of the basketball world, yet winning the gold medal wasn't the highlight of conversations surrounding USA Basketball. In fact, the spotlight was cast on Boston Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum, who barely saw time on the floor and ended up being benched at times by head coach Steve Kerr.
Obviously, when you have a team of 12 superstar players, some are going to have to sacrifice minutes and their roles for the greater good of the team. Tatum understands this, and he was willing to do what it took to win a gold medal. At the same time, the star forward had just led the Celtics to their 18th NBA title in team history and was named to the All-NBA First Team for the third straight season. To say that Tatum didn't belong on this year's Team USA roster is blasphemy at its finest.
Despite Tatum focusing on the bigger picture while he was being benched, this decision still ate at him mentally because of the negative attention this created in the media. Every day, the focus for Team USA revolved around if Tatum was going to play, which made this experience as a whole especially difficult for the Celtics superstar.
“It’s one of those things where there’s been so much talk and debate,” Tatum told The Athletic's Jared Weiss. “There was a period of is he a superstar or not? Then it was a big debate, like, is he championship ready now? Then it’s like how could he not get in the (Olympics)? I’m like, I just won a championship, it’s the summertime, it might be nice to have a little break where you don’t turn on ESPN and they’re talking about you. But I guess this is part of it, and that may be the level that I’ve reached now in my career.”
No All-Star in the NBA has been criticized more than Tatum has in recent years. Since entering the league at 19 years old in 2017, Tatum has been among the best scoring forwards this game has. But the constant string of Boston losing late in the playoffs and Tatum recording some poor performances in big moments resulted in a fake image being cast that the media has latched onto.
Now that he is a champion with the Celtics, a multi-time All-Star and All-NBA performer, and a gold medalist, all of that negative noise should disappear. Then again, the image of him being benched for Team USA at the Olympics once again casts a negative attitude from the media on Tatum.
“It was a lot. In the age of social media, you see everything. You see all the tweets and the people on the podcasts and people on TV giving their opinion on whether they thought it was a good decision or it was an outrageous decision or whatever,” Tatum continued. “Obviously, I wanted to contribute more, and I’ve never been in (this) situation. I started playing basketball at (age) 3 at the YMCA, and I’ve never not played, so it was different and it was challenging.”
Jrue Holiday weighs in on Jayson Tatum's Team USA struggles
Tatum was one of three Celtics players to represent the United States on Team USA's 12-man roster this summer. Jrue Holiday and Derrick White were also on the team, and it seemed like both guards ended up seeing bigger roles than Tatum, who was oftentimes left in the dust.
Although he has been with Team USA before and helped them win a gold medal at the 2020 Olympics, Holiday was even confused as to why Tatum was more of an afterthought on the team's bench. He knew that this was a massive weight on Tatum's back throughout the entirety of the Olympics, but the veteran guard knows that his Celtics teammate still made the most of this opportunity.
“When you see it everywhere all the time and people are talking about it and I’m hearing about it all the time, I’m like, ‘Man, I can only just imagine what he’s going through,'” Holiday stated. “I feel like he enjoyed himself and I feel like that’s a part of the experience, is enjoying it. I hope he got a chance to (enjoy) it, because I did. It’s fun to play with him and (Derrick) White, but then it’s also fun to play with some of the best players ever.”
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No matter what anyone says, Tatum is a gold medalist. He was a contributor on a gold-medal-winning team at the Olympics, and that's something nobody will ever be able to take away from him.
The media can say what they want about the Celtics star and make up rumors as to why he was benched, but Tatum isn't letting this experience drag him down by any means. Somebody was going to have to sacrifice in order for Team USA to come away with a gold medal, and Tatum is happy that the group reached their full potential.
“I wasn’t moping around,” Tatum said. “I didn’t have an attitude. I wasn’t angry at the world.
“I stayed ready and did what was asked of me and I won a gold medal, right?”
