Celtics News: Jayson Tatum’s Dad Reveals How All-Star Handled Team USA Treatment

During the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum surprisingly did not see a ton of playing time for Team USA. Coming off of an NBA Finals win in 2024 and a record-breaking contract extension, Tatum played in just four games with three starts for Team USA.

Tatum was not dealing with an injury but saw limited time on the court. He averaged just 17.7 minutes, 5.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game. Only Tyrese Haliburton played in fewer games during the Olympics for Team USA than Tatum. Every player besides Tatum and Haliburton played in five or six total games.

Tatum’s father Justin Tatum believes his son handled the lack of playing time well during the Olympics run, especially after Tatum was a pivotal part of Team USA’s 2020 Tokyo gold-medal winning team.

“He wasn’t good with not playing,” Justin said, via Marc J. Spears of Andscape. But he wasn’t in the room pouting or throwing chairs around or it was a topic of conversation at dinner. He said he could’ve stayed with his family, stayed home or done this, which is true. But he was happy to be out there winning the gold and he never really played with LeBron [James], Steph [Curry] or KD [Kevin Durant]. Being around those guys was a great experience and the main thing we were talking about.”

Team USA head coach Steve Kerr opted to go with other playing combinations during the Olympics, which limited Jayson’s playing time.

“I was OK with it if it made sense. If it made sense not to play him like a matchup,” Justin said, via Spears. “But if you can’t find time for him or whatever [USA head coach] Steve Kerr said. That don’t make too much sense. [Jayson] had a long season and a long summer and I just wanted to make sure he was healthy. ‘I just wanted to make sure that at the end of the day you know you’re still one of the best players out there. So, whatever the coach’s decision was or if they felt that they didn’t need you, we’re not always right as coaches. Hopefully, you take that as a sign of motivation and not disrespect. You’re one of the top five players. Keep your head up.’”