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Eight-Year NBA Veteran Sends Strong Message on Team USA’s Jayson Tatum Treatment

Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum had a limited role at the 2024 Paris Olympics
Joey Linn|
Mar 17, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) looks on from the bench against the Washington Wizards during the second half of the game at Capital One Arena.
Mar 17, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) looks on from the bench against the Washington Wizards during the second half of the game at Capital One Arena. | Scott Taetsch-USA TODAY Sports

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While Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum won an NBA championship and Olympic gold medal this summer, much of the discussion has been about his limited role on Team USA.

In and out of Steve Kerr’s rotation, Tatum played the second-fewest minutes for Team USA across the entire tournament, leading only Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton in that category. An All-NBA first team selection each of the last three seasons, Tatum was not a player that projected to be out of Kerr’s rotation, but that is often how it played out.

During a recent interview with Jared Weiss of The Athletic, Tatum opened up about his Team USA experience, and some of his quotes from the interview were shared on Instagram by SportsCenter:

Nine-year NBA veteran and former Memphis Grizzlies forward James Ennis reacted to this post, sending a strong message on his feelings towards the situation.

Via @biggame11 (Ennis): “Yeah I bet you a champion they did you wrong brother!!! Everyone knows.”

James Ennis comments on SportsCenter's Instagram post
James Ennis / Instagram

Tatum was honest about the challenging nature of this experience, telling The Athletic, “It was a lot. In the age of social media, you see everything. 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.”

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Joey Linn
JOEY LINN

Joey Linn is a credentialed writer covering the NBA and WNBA for On SI. Covering the LA Clippers independently in 2018, then for Fansided and 213Hoops from 2019-2021, Joey joined On SI to cover the Clippers after the 2020-21 season. Graduating from Biola University in 2022 with a Communication Studies degree, Joey served as Biola's play-by-play announcer for their basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. Joey's work on Biola's broadcasts and in the classroom earned him the Outstanding Communication Studies Student of the year award in 2022. Joey covers the NBA full-time, primarily serving as a Clippers beat writer.

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