Celtics’ Jayson Tatum Says He Hasn’t ‘Figured Out’ Reason for USA Olympic Benching

Paul KasabianFeatured Columnist IISeptember 24, 2024

Maddie Malhotra/Getty Images

Fresh off leading his team to an NBA championship, Boston Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum sat out two of Team USA’s six Olympic games.

He also struggled on the court, averaging 5.3 points on 38.1 percent shooting in 17.7 minutes per game.

At Celtics Media Day on Tuesday, Tatum noted that he hasn’t “figured out” why he didn’t see much playing time.

“Did I need any extra motivation coming into the season? No, I’m not gonna give anybody in particular credit that they’re motivating me to come into the season,” Tatum said, per ESPN’s Tim Bontemps.

“It was a unique circumstance, something I haven’t experienced before in my playing career. But I’m a believer that everything happens for a reason. I was coming off a championship, highest of highs, cover of 2K, a new contract, and that happened. Whatever the reason is, I haven’t figured out yet. But I am a believer that everything happens for a reason.

Understandably, it may have a been a tough pill for Tatum to swallow. He simply wasn’t a featured player on Team USA as LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant ultimately led the way.

However, Tatum is looking at the bright side, too, starting with the fact that he’s now the owner of two gold medals.

“But it was a good experience,” Tatum said.

“We won a gold medal, I won my second one, I was around some of the best players to play the game on a daily basis, build some friendships and was able to bring my family out there and enjoy the Olympics as a whole. So that was a plus for me, for sure.”

Tatum now has to pivot quickly as the Celtics, who are the preseason favorites for the NBA title, find themselves in a great position to win back-to-back championships and the franchise’s 19th overall.

The C’s are led by head coach Joe Mazzulla. On Tuesday, Tatum joked that his lack of playing time and ceding NBA Finals MVP honors to Jaylen Brown may make Mazzulla happy since the coach sees both as extra fuel for the seven-year veteran.

“Motivation? I guess you could say that, if you want to simplify it,” Tatum said. “In real time, [not playing in the Olympics] was tough. And Joe, I talked to Joe a lot. Joe was probably the happiest person in the world that I didn’t win Finals MVP and I didn’t play in two games of the Olympics. That was odd, but if you know Joe, it makes sense.”

Ultimately, all of this is history for Tatum, who now moves on to a new season. And for what it’s worth, he could still very well find himself on the Olympic team in 2028, when the Summer Games are held in Los Angeles.

But for now, the focus is on 2024-25, and a season that starts Oct. 22 against the New York Knicks.