All Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum heard about this summer was how he wasn’t good enough. His offseason was full of debates and drama surrounding him getting benched by Team USA in the Olympics. Fresh off the first championship of his career, he was immediately propelled into a month of narratives.
Team USA brought home a gold medal, but Tatum only appeared in four of the six games. And even when he did get in the game, he didn’t play a huge role.
Jayson Tatum finally talks about getting benched by Team USA during Olympics
In a chat with Jared Weiss of The Athletic, Tatum finally shared his thoughts on the benchings, and his response was what every Celtics fan should have wanted to hear.
“It’s one of those things where there’s been so much talk and debate,” Tatum said. “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.”
Tatum admitted that it was a challenging experience.
“Obviously, I wanted to contribute more, and I’ve never been in (this) situation,” Tatum said. “I started playing basketball at (age) 3 at the YMCA, and I’ve never not played, so it was different and it was challenging.”
But at the same time, he just wanted to do what was best for the team.
“I wasn’t moping around. I didn’t have an attitude. I wasn’t angry at the world,” Tatum said. “I stayed ready and did what was asked of me and I won a gold medal, right?”
For the entirety of his career, Tatum has been a reserved guy. He’s not one to cause a scene in the media or let his emotions out in that way. And that’s a good thing.
If Tatum had ranted about Steve Kerr or gone on a tangent about the USA Basketball program, some fans might have liked the fire, but it wouldn’t have done anything. Nothing would have changed, and it may have blown up in his face.
Instead, Tatum is going to do what he always does: Channel his emotions into basketball.
Having a drama-free superstar is a luxury that few fanbases have. Guys like Stephen Curry and Tim Duncan fit the bill, but then there are the Kevin Durants and Michael Jordans of the world. Like them or not, their actions are almost always going to land them a space in the national media.
And while Tatum ended up in that spot this summer, it wasn’t for something he did. It was for a decision to exclude him, and the best way he could have possibly handled the situation was to be himself.
That’s exactly what he did.