Jayson Tatum is one of the many big names who made the cut to feature in a star-studded Team USA roster for the Paris 2024 Olympics. But there are so many stars that coach Steve Kerr can’t always find the moment to use all of them.
In fact, the Boston Celtics forward didn’t play a single minute in the debut against Serbia. Kerr later admitted feeling bad about it and Tatum started in the following game against South Sudan.
The 26-year-old didn’t make much of an impact but his presence on the floor still made sense since he comes from winning the NBA championship in Boston. Even so, Tatum believes staying on the bench in the debut taught him a valuable lesson.
“Definitely a humbling experience, right?” Tatum said, via The Athletic’s Joe Vardon. “Win a championship, new contract, cover of 2K, and then you sit a whole game. Cover of Sports Illustrated. So it was definitely a humbling experience.”
Jayson Tatum #10 of the United States walks on the court during a break in the second half of an exhibition game against Canada ahead of the Paris Olympic Games.
Tatum with team-first mentality at Paris 2024 Olympics
If there’s something that makes this Team USA so interesting apart from talent is the team-first mentality all its stars have shown so far. LeBron James said his mindset is about winning gold and not breaking individual records.
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Stephen Curry may be a bit annoyed about his shooting struggles but is still prioritizing the team’s success. Therefore, it’s only fitting that Tatum is not that concerned about his playing time in France as long as Team USA wins.
“It’s a unique situation and it’s not about one individual player,“ Tatum said. “The competitor in you wants to play, obviously. But I’m not here to make a story, making it about myself. We won. I was just glad to get back out there and play again (Wednesday). There was a lot of chatter over the last few days but I was in good spirits, I had a good attitude about it. I’m not holding any grudges or anything.”
