Kevin Garnett gives new perspective on Jayson Tatum Team USA drama

It’s been a couple of weeks since all of the drama between Jayson Tatum and Team USA went down. Head coach Steve Kerr benched the Boston Celtics star for multiple games during the 2024 Olympics run, and in the other four games, Tatum barely played.

The entire basketball world was up in arms about the drama. One side believed Kerr should have played Tatum no matter what, and the other made the argument that the fit just didn’t make sense.

Obviously, plenty of people on the former side had a bit of green glasses bias, while the latter had the opposite. But one Boston legend recently provided a new perspective on the incident.

Kevin Garnet thinks it was a good thing that Jayson Tatum didn't play for Team USA in the Olympics

During a recent edition of his podcast, KG Certified, Celtics champion Kevin Garnett spoke about Tatum getting benched in the Olympics. According to him, it’s a good thing that the star didn’t play, as it was better for him to get some rest. (H/t Conor Roche of Boston.com)

“It was great that he didn’t have to play a lot of minutes,” Garnett said. “He’s coming off the Finals. I know [Derrick White] and [Jrue] Holiday were there, but to play big minutes [for] the USA, I’m glad they didn’t need Jayson Tatum. I’m glad he got to actually rest and chill.”

Tatum had been playing basketball for 10 months straight when the Olympics started up. From training camp in October to playing in the Finals until the end of June, he didn’t get a break. Until the Olympics.

Garnett spent 21 years in the NBA, competing in the Olympics multiple times. If anyone knows what it’s like play without a break, it’s him, especially after multiple runs to the NBA Finals in Boston.

For him to say it was a good thing that Tatum didn’t play means something. And Garnett is right about Boston not needing Tatum, too. They still managed to win a gold medal despite the fact that the Celtics star was glued to the bench.

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter too much that Tatum didn’t play in the Olympics. If anything, he’ll be motivated by the snub, and as Garnett pointed out, he got some much-needed rest in the middle of the summer.

Now, Tatum will be back with the Celtics and ready to help them compete for Banner 19.