Jayson Tatum’s summer, which began riding the wave of an NBA championship with the Boston Celtics and a record-setting $315 million extension to become the league’s highest-paid player, collapsed once USA Basketball head coach Steve Kerr interfered with the 26-year-old’s latest trip to the Olympics.
Tatum logged a pair of DNPs, including one during Team USA’s semifinal nail-biter against Team Serbia, forcing a media frenzy of scrutiny much like what Tatum faced throughout the postseason en route to Boston’s 18th title. Kerr didn’t provide an elaborative explanation for failing to utilize the five-time All-Star and watched as LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry took gold at the Paris Summer Olympics, doing so in relatively underwhelming fashion as the tournament’s powerhouse.
“Those guys were all great. Jayson handled things so well,” Kerr told NBA.com’s Steve Aschburner. “Then obviously it became a media subject, but he couldn’t have handled it better. Tyrese (Haliburton), same thing. Every game was different. And we talked about that from the first night — 12 superstars and probably only nine can play consistent minutes. They handled themselves really professionally and pulled for each other. I couldn’t be prouder of them all.”
Tatum’s performance with one of Team USA’s all-time basketball rosters was far from notable. He averaged 5.3 points with 1.3 rebounds and one assist in 17.7 minutes per contest. The opportunities for Tatum to shine were extremely limited and when the seven-year veteran did take the floor, Tatum was on a short leash as Kerr appeared to have minimal faith in his ability to contribute.
Granted, Tatum wasn’t discouraged from the humbling experience. While it appears as though Kerr intends to retire from USA Basketball’s helm, Tatum still has plenty of Olympic runs to offer, and although he didn’t commit to 2028 officially, Tatum did make it clear that 2024 won’t play a factor in the decision-making process.
“It was a tough personal experience on the court, but I’m not going to make any decision off emotions,” Tatum said after USA’s 98-87 gold medal win over France, per ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. “If you asked me right now if I was going to play in 2028 — it is four years from now and I (would have) to take time and think about that. So I’m not going to make any decision based off how this experience was or how I felt individually.”
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