It was “weird” to see Tatum sitting on the bench on the Olympics

Celtics

Jrue Holiday was one in all three Celtics to take home a gold medal for Team USA on the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

Both Holiday and Derrick White served as two reliable backcourt options on head coach Steve Kerr's squad in the course of the international tournament. The same can’t be said for Jayson Tatum.

After a dominant 2023-24 season during which Tatum helped lead Boston to its 18th championship, the star forward was expected to be a everlasting fixture on Team USA's roster.

Finally, Tatum played a key role in Team USA's gold medal win on the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo (20.5 minutes per game, 15.2 points per game).

But within the 2024 Games, Tatum played a complete of just 71 minutes in 4 games – with Kerr opting to take a seat out Tatum in two games against Serbia. Only 24-year-old guard Tyrese Haliburton saw less motion for Team USA in the course of the tournament than Tatum.

While Tatum has been vocal in regards to the ups and downs of the 2024 Olympics, Holiday admitted in a recent interview on Paul George's “Podcast P” show that he was also surprised that Tatum's minutes were diminished in Paris.

“Was it strange? Yes – it’s Jayson Tatum,” Holiday admitted. “What do you mean? The five best players within the league. Just won a championship, among the best players within the playoffs and in [NBA Finals’. When it was happening, like, yeah, you feel for him.  You could see that, yeah, he’s upset.”

For Holiday, who also won a gold medal alongside Tatum during the 2020 Olympics, it was a bittersweet feeling to see Tatum stuck on the bench during critical games against Nikola Jokic and Serbia. 

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity or experience where you get to be around some of the greatest athletes in the world,” Holiday said. “On the flip side, like just winning the championship with my boys, and then knowing how good they are, and they are good enough to be on this team, it’s definitely hard to see. Because, I mean, you want the best for your man.” 

Even though Tatum was upset about falling out of Kerr’s rotation, Holiday stressed that the Celtics star didn’t let those frustrations bleed into Team USA’s approach during the tournament. 

“He wants to play,” Holiday said of Tatum. “What’s going to be best for the team? I don’t want to mess up any chemistry. He wasn’t pouting. I could tell you that. He would get in the gym. It’s not like he stopped working. He was the one seriously trying to be like, ‘All right, well, I’m gonna stay ready whenever my numbers are called.”