From Jared Weiss (The Athletic)
Link to article: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5729821/2024/08/29/jayson-tatum-team-usa-benching-boston-celtics/
“It’s one of those things where there’s been so much talk and debate,” Tatum said. “There was a period of is he a superstar or not? Then it was a big debate, like, is he championship ready now? Then it’s like how could he not get in the (Olympics)? I’m like, I just won a championship, it’s the summertime, it might be nice to have a little break where you don’t turn on ESPN and they’re talking about you. But I guess this is part of it, and that may be the level that I’ve reached now in my career.”
“It was a lot. In the age of social media, you see everything,” Tatum said. “You see all the tweets and the people on the podcasts and people on TV giving their opinion on whether they thought it was a good decision or it was an outrageous decision or whatever. Obviously, I wanted to contribute more, and I’ve never been in (this) situation. I started playing basketball at (age) 3 at the YMCA, and I’ve never not played, so it was different and it was challenging.”
“I wasn’t moping around. I didn’t have an attitude. I wasn’t angry at the world,” Tatum said. “I stayed ready and did what was asked of me and I won a gold medal, right?”
“I know I didn’t make a jump shot when I was with Team USA. I don’t know, law of averages,” Tatum said. “It’s a weird rhythm thing being with Team USA; you never exactly know when you’re gonna get the ball. But that’s part of it. You sign up for that because I’ve done it before (at the Tokyo Games).”
“I have two (gold medals) now, I have a championship, and everything doesn’t necessarily go the way you expect it to go, right?” Tatum said. “I’ve learned to be like, ‘OK, that’s a part of it.’ You move on, and I’m getting ready to enjoy the last little weeks I have before the season starts and get ready for another season.”
“I’m always a glass-half-full type of guy,” he said. “I always believe everything happens for a reason and whatever that is, I don’t know yet. But I’m certain I’ll find out.”
16 comments
Tatum is a PR monster lol. Great answer kid. Lets go get another 🏆
Tatum is really good at handling media. But we know the truth. He and JB both are gonna come out on a damn mission this year.
I don’t care what any other fanbases say about aura and all that dumb, unimportant stuff. I’m so glad we don’t have to deal with “send da video” scandals from our star player. He just cares about basketball and his family.
Answers like this make me laugh at people who actually think he is going to reject team USA and skip the Olympics next time especially since it’s on home soil
r/NBA actually supporting him with same story. The haters must not be allowed on Reddit now that school is back in session.
most important part from this article imo:
> Once Deuce starts school, Tatum can turn his attention to his day job. His goal for the Celtics is to make sure they don’t lose their sense of urgency next season. He said they will have to fight the urge to be complacent, something they succeeded with last year under Joe Mazzulla.
> The Celtics were fitted for their rings two weeks ago, and Tatum said everyone was excited by the process. When the team came into the facility earlier this month, he told everyone they needed to make sure their title celebration was short-lived once the games began.
> “I’m of the mindset that after ring night, in a weird way, we got to put that behind (us),” he said. “Last year was last year. We did it. It was a dream come true. We worked our ass off for it. But after ring night, we gotta move on. We gotta get ready for game two.”
that’s what I fuckin like to hear. we finally got it done but we got the team to win a whole lot more than just one
Such a class act, so happy for him and the Celtics period!
I love that the person who posted this knows that not all of us subscribe to the athletic and basically copy and paste the article for us to read. And as for Tatum he is just a class act!!
Sounds like someone that has their head right and their priorities straight.
I absolutely can not wait for the season to start
Someone let me know what r/nba says this says about his aura
It’s hard to belive a guy who copies other people emotional moments and tries to present them as it’s own and unique
I think the real question is: if you knew that you would barely play, would you have spent your summer doing the Olympics?
A PR TEAMS WET DREAM.
We love our boy, JT, don’t we folks?🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼
Fake news!! He was a detriment to the team and hates Jaylen because he won FMVP!
Tatum literally more mature and able to face and admit the reality than virtually all the posters of this subreddit.
Irritates the shit out of me that Tatum is getting criticized because…other people were like “why isn’t he playing?” Like how is that on him?