“Jayson Tatum Seems Like A Colossal Pain”: NBA Analyst’s Verdict On Celtics Star’s Benching

Jayson Tatum had an excellent season with the Boston Celtics. The five-time All-Star won his first NBA title, yet it wasn’t enough for him to receive some playing time during Team USA’s first Olympic matchup.

Following his absence from the court against Serbia, Tatum’s 4-point performance against South Sudan wasn’t as alarming to this analyst who commented on Tatum’s benching in the Olympic opener.

Doug Gottlieb, on his show on Fox Sports, was more concerned with Tatum’s statement after his DNP rather than the actual DNP itself. In his words, 

“‘He said, ‘Win a championship, new contract, cover of 2K, and then you sit the whole game, cover of Sports Illustrated, so it’s definitely humbling.’ I’m just gonna tell you right now…How it reads to me is Jayson Tatum seems like a colossal pain in the a**.”

The lingering Jayson Tatum drama cloud hovering over Team USA has led @GottliebShow to a simple conclusion:

“How it reads to me is Jayson Tatum seems like a colossal pain….” pic.twitter.com/KCkG7OCrbw

— FOX Sports Radio (@FoxSportsRadio) August 1, 2024

Speaking at face value, Tatum decided to label being benched a humbling experience. However, listing his achievements and accolades in the statement was where the NBA analyst drew the line.

“Instead of saying, ‘Hey, I don’t care if I play a minute or if I play the whole game, I just wanna win.’ He’s like, ‘I’ve got all this stuff that’s humbling.’ It’s not humbling. You have not been humbled. Because then you read some sort of resume like any of us give a c**p.”

While JT’s statement sounded a tad too high and mighty, it still created quite a buzz on social media. Numerous fans lashed out at Team USA’s head coach Steve Kerr for benching a five-time All-Star and NBA champion.

Kerr did go on to place the Celtics star in the starting five against South Sudan in the team’s next matchup. But Gottlieb believes that Tatum’s attitude and demeanor are a nightmare, especially for the coaching staff.

The analyst simply pointed out that if getting benched was as humbling an experience as Tatum made it out to be, he would not have needed to mention all of his recent accomplishments beforehand.

For his next outing, Tatum did receive playing time in their matchup against South Sudan, starting the game for Steve Kerr. However, his 4-point outing doesn’t do much to help his case.