Jayson Tatum admitted he was surprised to be benched by the U.S. national team for their 2024 Olympic Games opener against Serbia last weekend.
in Interview with The AthleticTatum, 26, called the game a “humbling experience” given all he’s accomplished since the Celtics won the NBA title in June.
“It was definitely a humbling experience, right?” Tatum said of being benched against Serbia. “A championship, a new contract, the cover of (NBA) 2K, and then to sit on the bench for an entire game. The cover of Sports Illustrated. So it was definitely a humbling experience.”
Tatum, a five-time All-Star, did not play in the 110-84 victory despite playing 17.6 minutes per game in the U.S. national team’s five Olympic exhibition games.
2024 Paris Olympics
A few days later against South Sudan, Tatum started and played 17 minutes, finishing with four points, five rebounds and two assists.
In that game, NBA superstar Joel Embiid once again set social media ablaze after failing to crack head coach Steve Kerr’s starting rotation.
Amid much of the discussion surrounding the roster decisions, Kerr insisted to The Athletic that everyone on Team USA is working toward a goal much bigger than who spends the most time on the court.
“I mean, they’re all champions, All-Stars, Hall of Famers, whatever you want to call it,” Kerr said. “So it just comes down to, are we committed to our goals? That’s it. I always tell the Warriors players, the reason they pay us so much is because there’s so much interest in what we do around the world. So you can’t have both. You can’t accept your salary and then get upset about social media and the press.
“The beauty of the Olympics is that none of that nonsense matters. I know everyone will write about it, but none of that nonsense matters. We’re just trying to win every match and get the gold medal. It’s an incredibly pure feeling and the athletes are so dedicated to each other that they don’t worry about any of that stuff.”
The U.S. will face Puerto Rico in its final group game on Saturday morning.
