Celtics Fans’ Excuse For Why Jayson Tatum Being Benched On Team USA Was Good

Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum made headlines at the 2024 Paris Olympics for all the wrong reasons.

Fresh off winning his first NBA championship, Tatum expected to have a major role in the American side’s efforts to win a gold medal. That didn’t end up happening, though. Steve Kerr benched him from pretty much the jump – and Tatum wound up riding the bench for the entirety of the tournament.

When the Olympics ended, Kerr finally gave the real reason he benched Tatum. Stephen Curry, one of Team USA’s brightest stars, agreed with Kerr’s rationale.

Fortunately for Tatum, Celtics fans have gone into damage control mode regarding his embarrassing showing at the Olympics.

This week, Kevin Garnett – a good measuring stick for Celtics fan opinion – offered his thoughts on why Tatum becoming a laughing stock at the 2024 Olympics was actually a positive.

“It was great that he didn’t have to play a lot of minutes, man,” Garnett said.

“It was great that [Jayson Tatum] didn’t have to play a lot of minutes…”@KevinGarnett5KG offers a unique take on JT’s hotly-debated run with Team USA at the Paris Olympics 👀 pic.twitter.com/jCeZsLmhEP

— All the Smoke Productions (@allthesmokeprod) August 15, 2024

“He’s coming off of the Finals… I’m glad they didn’t need Jayson Tatum. I’m glad he got to actually rest and chill.”

Garnett didn’t stop there, though.

“When you win, you get a shortened season, while everybody else gets four, five months off. You probably get what, two, two and a half? And then it’s right back in the lab. He had to turn around and win the NBA championship. Turn around, what two, two and a half weeks, three weeks, start preparing for the USA, and then had to show up to training camp for that. I can only imagine how difficult that was for him,” he continued.

The reality is that Tatum didn’t play in the 2024 Paris Olympics because he wasn’t good enough at his biggest strength to justify playing time. Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry were more potent scorers. LeBron James and Devin Booker were better at running the offense. Jrue Holiday was a better defender.

Tatum didn’t bring anything to the table to warrant more playing time.

Garnett and Celtics fans can spin Tatum’s Olympic showing however they want – but it won’t change the reality of the situation one iota.

Jennifer Withers Hoey

Jennifer Withers Hoey is a former Business Development Manager who transitioned to writing about Sports. With valuable connections all over the West Coast, she has used those contacts to break some of the most interesting stories pertaining to the Portland Trail Blazers, Oregon Ducks, LA Lakers, LA Clippers, Seattle Supersonics (RIP), and more.