Boston Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum made all sorts of headlines for the wrong reasons after he saw zero minutes of action in Team USA’s Olympic opener against Serbia on Sunday. Fans and pundits alike called out national team head coach Steve Kerr for deciding to keep Tatum on the bench throughout the entire contest. This is despite the fact that the USA won the game in convincing fashion, 110-84.
Tatum has now broken his silence on this major issue that has overshadowed the national squad’s impressive win against Nikola Jokic and Co.
Jayson Tatum Speaks Out on Benching
According to Kerr, Tatum remained professional when the coach told him before the game that he wasn’t going to play. You have to respect Tatum for not letting his ego get the better of him in what was truly an undesirable situation.
On Wednesday, Tatum finally spoke out about this benching saga, and the Celtics talisman came out with a brutally honest admission.
“You win a championship, new contract, NBA 2K25 cover, Sports Illustrated … So after all this, it’s definitely a humbling experience,” he said.
Tatum returned to the lineup in the next game, which resulted in a 103-86 win against South Sudan on Wednesday. In fact, he got the nod to start.
Tatum, however, responded with just four points on 2-of-4 shooting, to go along with five rebounds and two assists in 17 minutes of action. It was far from a redemption game for the Celtics forward, who will now want to fare much better on Saturday against Puerto Rico. That is, of course, under the assumption that he gets to play.
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