Heading into the 2024 Paris Olympics, media mogul and Boston Celtics diehard Bill Simmons had a red-hot take: Jayson Tatum, not LeBron James, will be more important for Team USA. Simmons insisted that Tatum should be closing games for the United States and said that Tatum could play a similar role to the one Carmelo Anthony had in the 2012 London Olympics.
Unfortunately for Simmons, Tatum didn't play a single second in Team USA's dominant 110-84 win over Serbia, starting their Olympics run to a gold medal 1-0. To make matters worse for Simmons, James was the most important player for Team USA in the win, finishing with 21 points, nine assists, and six rebounds in roughly 27 minutes of action.
As soon as the final buzzer sounded, Simmons probably had to put his phone on Do Not Disturb since fans and haters had a heyday roasting The Ringer founder on social media over his Olympics takes.
Bill Simmons is roasted over bad Olympics takes
After Bill Simmons expressed his belief that while Team USA decided to give the car keys to James, he doesn’t think that Tatum is “a stand on the side guy” for the Olympics. But while that may very well be the case about Tatum, there has been no indication that James’ Olympics role has been based on anything except merit throughout Team USA’s exhibition games, as Simmons implied. But, after the opening win over Serbia, it's more than merit, with James dominating and Tatum not doing any standing at all.
Social media users skewered Simmons for this take. “Bill Simmons said Tatum wasn’t a ‘stand off to the side guy' so now he’s a ‘sit his ass on the bench guy' instead,” @protectedpick posted on X.
Regardless of how this take evolves, Simmons has never been one to shy away from being a Boston sports homer. He'll likely double down on everything he said on his next podcast episode. But until the mics are hot, he has to live with the feeling that he was wrong about Tatum in the Olympics.
Simmons was so wrong that he said Tatum's game was perfect for Olympic basketball. He noted Tatum should command more of James's minutes because the Celtics had just won the title. Simmons boldly claimed that Tatum should also get minutes over Kevin Durant. For Simmons, reality can sometimes be the exact opposite of what people hope for.
Simmons's undying love for Boston sports and their athletes is part of his charm. It also draws ire from fans who wish he'd realize there's more to the NBA than just the Celtics. Like a broken clock, sometimes Simmons is right since Tatum is one of the NBA's very best. But it doesn't mean he's always right, and like Tatum's Olympics no-show, folks will be more than happy to remind him.
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