Jayson Tatum won gold with Team USA in France but he did not feature in the starring role he is used to, even healthy scratching in a couple games.
Fellow Boston sports legend Tom Brady came to Tatum’s defense:
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“A true professional! A true champion! And a great teammate! We should celebrate people who care more about the team success than the individual success!”
This means a lot coming from Brady who needs no introduction. He knows what it takes to win and that it’s never just one guy, no matter who that one guy is. He went further:
“There are so many people involved in every organization who don’t always play a ‘starting’ role but play a huge role in the success of the team. I have more respect for Jayson Tatum now more than ever! This is what we should be teaching our kids!”
Kevin Garnett had a different take on Tatum’s Olympic play time:
“One of the harder years that I had personally was when I played in the Olympics. Not only that, but Jayson Tatum won the NBA Championship in his Olympic year, which is probably the most difficult to do, right? I bet you that there was a conversation with him and Grant Hill or with management about coming on the team and being able to rest.”
Even if Tatum knows he needs some rest, it’s hard to watch from the bench knowing what you could do if you were out there. After it was all over in France he told reporters that it was a difficult adjustment, but he holds no ill will for anyone at Team USA. When asked if he would play for Team USA again in 2028 he said he had to think about it:
“It was a tough personal experience on the court, but I’m not going to make any decision off emotions. I’m not going to make any decision based off how this experience was or how I felt individually.”
Jake Flynn is a writer for Ball Exclusives. You can find more of his work on Medium.
