2024 Paris Olympics: Jayson Tatum's more limited role with Team USA was a 'tough personal experience'
Despite having to take a bit of a back seat with Team USA, Jayson Tatum insisted he isn't letting this summer's run impact his decision for the 2028 Olympics
Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum didn’t have the biggest impact on the court during Team USA’s gold medal run at the 2024 Paris Olympics this summer.
While he admitted that was a hard thing to deal with, Tatum insisted on Saturday night that he wouldn’t let it impact his decision when it comes to the next Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028.
Tatum came off the bench and played just 11 minutes in the United States’ 98-87 win over France on Saturday, which gave Team USA its fifth consecutive gold medal. He had two points and three rebounds on the night and shot 1-of-3 from the field.
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Tatum didn’t play in either of Team USA’s games against Serbia, either, including their wild 17-point comeback win in the semifinals. United States coach Steve Kerr insisted that was due to matchups and had nothing to do with Tatum’s performance or anything else.
Several other members of Team USA had their moments when they didn’t see the court. Joel Embiid didn’t play at all against South Sudan, and Derrick White didn’t play against France on Saturday. Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton sat in three of the six Olympic games — including the final two. He still seemed thrilled about his gold medal.
When you ain’t do nun on the group project and still get an A🏅 pic.twitter.com/xpshYZhMyA
— Tyrese Haliburton (@TyHaliburton22) August 10, 2024
Tatum averaged 26.9 points, 8.1 rebounds and 4.9 assists last season while leading the Boston Celtics past the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals to claim their first championship since 2008. He agreed to a five-year, $315 million extension with the franchise after that championship run, too.
He’s undoubtedly the centerpiece of the Celtics in Boston, but Tatum had to take a bit of a back seat with Team USA at times during their gold medal run.
"A lot of people text me and reached out and said, 'Make sure this fuels you,' which I appreciate. There's a lot of people that care about me," Tatum said, via ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. "I think the tough part is, yes, you can use things to fuel you, but I'm still human … Part of being in the moment, I've sacrificed and put a lot into this game and work really, really hard. So in the moment it is tough.
“You're not necessarily worried about fueling me for November or [whenever] the season is, but like I said, it's something I'm going to take away from this and learn from this experience. It's definitely challenging and humbling at the same time."
While it’s still four years away, Team USA should look very different for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. LeBron James and Stephen Curry will both be in their 40s and likely won’t be on the roster, and Kevin Durant will be 39 if he opts to play again.
So while he may be a bit frustrated with how Paris went, Tatum is trying to keep things in perspective and avoid making a quick decision.
"It was a tough personal experience on the court, but I'm not going to make any decision off emotions," Tatum said. "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."