Kevin Garnett explains how Jayson Tatum being benched at Paris Olympics is actually good
Jayson Tatum hardly got minutes during Team USA's gold medal-winning campaign at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
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Jayson Tatum and Kevin Garnett (Images via USA Today/Variety)
Jayson Tatum was one of two Boston Celtics stars selected to the Team USA roster for the Paris Olympics. However, Tatum quickly went from being a championship hero to warming the bench, as playing minutes became hard to come by. Indeed, that treatment of the NBA star by coach Steve Kerr brought about widespread criticisms from fans and analysts alike. However, former basketball player Kevin Garnett appears to think otherwise.
In a recent appearance on All The Smoke Productions, Garnett talked about the squad depth in the 2024 USA men’s team. Then he stated why he thinks Jayson Tatum not playing much at the Olympics might actually be good.
It was great that he didn't have to play a lot of minutes, man. He was coming off of the finals... I'm glad they didn't need Jayson Tatum. I'm glad he got to actually rest and chill... So, you know, he had to turn around, win the NBA championship, turn around... you know, start preparing for USA and then have to show up to training camp for that. I can only imagine how difficult that was for him.Kevin Garnett said
As stated by Garnett, the Celtics star was coming into the USA team after winning an NBA title and needed to rest. In his opinion, that could work well for Tatum as the new season is just around the corner. Furthermore, the former basketball player asserts there was likely an agreement between USA basketball chiefs and Tatum about not playing lots of games at the 2024 Olympics.
Garnett also added that while people cried out over the DNPs Tatum got, he is quite happy because the 26-year-old gets to rejuvenate and relax his body. According to him, the amount of time other USA stars got to take a break and prepare for camp is different from the Celtics player who had way less.
Kenyon Martin called out USA coach for benching Jayson Tatum at Olympics
At the Olympics, Tatum was only afforded minutes in just two out of 6 games. And while the competition was ongoing, former NBA star Kenyon Martin couldn’t resist the urge anymore to call out Steve Kerr over his decisions.
Speaking on the Gilbert Arenas Show, Martin criticized the Team USA head coach and suggested he should be admitted to a mental health facility.
If it was announced that Jayson Tatum might not play, they should have had him f****** admitted to a f****** psych ward.
Kenyon Martin said
While the Boston Celtics superstar didn’t complain about his low playing time, Martin was adamant that he deserved to be involved in games and not sitting idly on the bench. Nonetheless, with the tournament concluded and Tatum himself a gold medal winner now, it goes without saying that the NBA star doesn’t regret his Olympic experience entirely.
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Peter Okereke
(98 Articles Published)