Former NBA star Jeff Teague recently expressed his thoughts on Jayson Tatum getting snubbed in the 2024 Olympics. Tatum won his second gold medal in the Olympics after winning his first-ever NBA championship. While on paper his recent achievements are nothing short of legendary, the situation wasn't necessarily a bed of roses. Despite getting selected to play for Team USA over his Boston Celtics teammate Jaylen Brown, who won the NBA Finals MVP, Tatum barely had minutes.
Teague pointed out in his podcast (Club 520 Podcast) that Team USA indirectly made Tatum feel like the worst player on the team. This was due to his lack of playing time throughout the Olympics. Teague also noted that Tatum was the only player on the national roster to make the First Team All-NBA. This proved how disrespectfully Team USA treated the Celtics champion.
“Jayson Tatum, oh he's done with the Olympics,” Teague said. “He's never gonna play again. … [Team USA] already told Jaylen Brown he wasn't elite, so he's already on a revenge tour right? They gonna come out on bulls**t. And now [Team USA] is telling Jayson Tatum he's the worst player out of all the elites, pretty much. All the top players in the league on the Olympic team [Team USA] telling [Tatum] he's the worst one? … Only one on the roster this year to make First Team All-NBA.”
Jayson Tatum barely played in 2024 Olympics
Despite recently winning the 2024 NBA championship, Jayson Tatum barely played any minutes in the 2024 Olympics. To add insult to injury, his Boston Celtics teammate Derrick White, who isn't even an All-Star, played more minutes than him. This led to a backlash among fans and analysts alike.
During Team USA's exhibition games, it seemed like Tatum was going to play a pivotal role for the team. However, come the group phase matchup against Serbia in Paris, the newly crowned champion didn't see any playing time. Meanwhile, his buddy White played 16 minutes in the Paris opener. It was an eye-opening decision, nevertheless, the Americans pulled off a victory.
Come the next three games against South Soudan, Puerto Rico, and Brazil, Tatum finally had a role to play. Unfortunately, his role wasn't as big as everyone was expecting. Throughout those three games, Tatum averaged 6.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 2.0 assists. His most prominent role was against Puerto Rico when he notched a double-double outing with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Even then Jayson's role seemed small.
Then come the rematch between Team USA and Serbia, head coach Steve Kerr decided to leave Tatum on the bench again. These actions likely indicated that the team thought Jayson could be a liability against stronger opponents. Tatum also barely played in the gold medal game against France clocking in only 11 minutes on the hardwood. Nevertheless, Tatum can now call himself a two-time Olympic gold medalist.
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