Jayson Tatum’s lack of playing time became a major storyline during the US Men’s Basketball Team’s gold medal-winning run at the 2024 Paris Olympics. In June, the superstar forward led the Celtics to their first championship in 16 years. However, a month later in France, he averaged only 17 minutes of game time and did not feature in two of Team USA’s six matches.
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There was a lot of outrage about head coach Steve Kerr’s inability to give Tatum meaningful playing time. However, during a conversation with The Athletic, the Celtics superstar stated he wasn’t bothered about it. The forward claimed he was only concerned about returning home with the gold medal around his and his teammates’ necks. He said,
“I wasn’t moping around. 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?”
Tatum also admitted that he did not play as well as he should have, especially on offense. He banked only eight of his 21 shot attempts and none of his four three-point attempts at the Olympics. The 26-year-old explained why he shot poorly and noted that his performances played a part in his limited playing time, saying,
“I know I didn’t make a jump shot when I was with Team USA. I don’t know, law of averages. It’s a weird rhythm thing being with Team USA; you never exactly know when you’re gonna get the ball. But that’s part of it.”
Tatum’s lack of playing time took on a life of its own during the Olympics and his Celtics teammate Jrue Holiday empathized with the forward’s predicament.
Jrue Holiday speaks on Jayson Tatum’s Olympics saga
The veteran guard revealed that the chatter about the forward’s game time became too loud to ignore. He said the negativity likely took away Tatum’s ability to live in the moment and enjoy sharing the locker room with all-time greats. He said,
“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.’ 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.”
The bright lights of the Olympic stage weren’t kind to Tatum. However, he’s enjoying some well-deserved time off after a grueling schedule. He’ll return to Boston soon and look to lead the Celtics to another championship alongside Jaylen Brown, who also has a score to settle.
