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Paris 2024 Olympics: Jayson Tatum’s reduced role with Team USA was a ‘tough personal experience’

VaselineAugust 11, 2024

2 2 minutes read

Paris 2024 Olympics: Jayson Tatum’s reduced role with Team USA was a ‘tough personal experience’

Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum didn’t have the biggest impact on the court during Team USA’s gold medal run at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris this summer.

While he admitted it was difficult to deal with, Tatum stressed Saturday night that he would not let it affect his decision for the next Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028.

Tatum came off the bench and played just 11 minutes in the United States’ 98-87 win over France on Saturday, which gave Team USA its fifth consecutive gold medal. He had two points and three rebounds on the night, shooting 1-for-3 from the field.

Tatum also did not play in any of Team USA’s games against Serbia, including their wild 17-point comeback win in the semifinals. United States coach Steve Kerr insisted this was due to matchups and had nothing to do with Tatum’s performance or anything else.

Several other members of Team USA had moments when they didn’t see the field. Joel Embiid didn’t play at all against South Sudan, and Derrick White didn’t play against France on Saturday. Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton has been in three of the six Olympics — including the last two. He still seemed happy about his gold medal.

Tatum averaged 26.9 points, 8.1 rebounds and 4.9 assists last season while leading the Boston Celtics past the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals to claim their first championship since 2008 earlier this spring. He agreed to a new five-year, $315 million extension with the franchise following that championship run.

He’s undoubtedly the linchpin of the Celtics in Boston, but Tatum has had to take a back seat at times for Team USA during their gold medal run.

“A lot of people messaged me and said, ‘Let this energize you,’ which I appreciate. There’s a lot of people that care about me,” Tatum said, via ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. “I think the tough part is, yeah, you can use things to energize you, but I’m still human. … Part of the moment is I sacrificed and put a lot into this game and worked really, really hard. So in the moment, it’s tough.

“You don’t necessarily have to worry about feeding me for November or (whenever) the season is, but like I said, it’s something I’m going to take away from this and learn from this experience. It’s definitely challenging and humbling at the same time.”

Though it’s still four years away, Team USA should look very different for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. LeBron James and Stephen Curry are both in their 40s and likely won’t be on the roster, and Kevin Durant will be 39 if he chooses to play again.

While Tatum may be a little frustrated with how Paris turned out, he’s trying to keep things in perspective and not make any hasty decisions.

“It was a tough personal experience on the court, but I’m not going to make a decision based on emotion,” Tatum said. “If you were to ask me right now if I was going to play in 2028 — it’s four years away and I (would) have to take some time to think about that. So I’m not going to make a decision based on what this experience was like or how I felt personally.”

VaselineAugust 11, 2024

2 2 minutes read