Even though Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum is representing the United States at the upcoming Olympics, there's still one team he'd take against this Team USA squad.
In an interview on ESPN's NBA Today on Tuesday, Tatum was asked to choose who would win in a winner-takes-all game between the 2024 Team USA Olympic squad and the 2024 NBA champion Celtics.
“I'm riding with the guys I just played 10 months of basketball with,” Tatum said. “I love this team I'm on, this is a hell of a team, some of the best players to ever play, but what I just went through with my teammates in winning a championship, we locked in forever. I'm taking us against whoever.”
Would the Celtics stand a chance against Team USA?
Does Jayson Tatum have an argument? Let's break it down.
Assuming Tatum and Jrue Holiday are on the Celtics in this hypothetical, the starting lineups are more even than one would expect.
For the Celtics, it would be Holiday, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Tatum and Kristaps Porzingis.
They'd be going against Team USA's projected lineup of Golden State Warriors sharpshooter Stephen Curry, Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star Anthony Edwards, Los Angeles Lakers legend LeBron James, Phoenix Suns superstar Kevin Durant and Philadelphia 76ers new Team USA center Joel Embiid.
While Team USA obviously has more star power and scoring ability 1-5 than the Celtics, Boston does have the leg-up defensively. Holiday and White were just named to the NBA All-Defensive second team, and Brown and Tatum are considered two of the most versatile, switchable defenders in the league. If anyone could contain a team with as much offensive firepower as Team USA, it would be the 2024 Celtics.
Holiday and White would certainly be up to the task of defending Curry and Edwards, while Brown and Tatum proved this postseason that they can go shot-for-shot with anyone in the league. A healthy Porzingis would give the Celtics a 7-3 floor-spacing rim protector who can bother anyone's shot and get easy buckets anywhere on the floor on the other end.
Heading to the bench is where the argument of the Celtics superstar begins to really fall apart. While the Celtics do have a solid unit, by NBA standards at least–led by Al Horford, Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser–it's nothing compared to what Team USA can offer.
Whether it's Los Angeles Clippers defensive ace Kawhi Leonard, Suns guard Devin Booker, Lakers forward Anthony Davis or any of the other superstars down Team USA's depth chart, there are just too many elite players on the Olympic roster for the Celtics to contend with.
Jayson Tatum can't be faulted for riding with his Celtics team though. They only lost three games in the postseason in one of the most dominant championship runs of all time. But, it's hard to take any team against the current Team USA group that is expected to be the favorites to get the gold medal at this summer's Olympics.
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