Some things remain constant for Jayson Tatum. His career has had its ups and downs, but one thing remains constant: Tatum is always in the headlines.
He burst onto the NBA scene at age 19 as an impressive role player whose public perception wavered between positive and overhyped, but his June win over the Boston Celtics earned him a championship pass and ended any doubts about his star potential.
But it only took a few weeks for the conversation to start up again. This time, the tune was different. As part of Team USA, Tatum (along with Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton) was not on the bench for the opening Olympic game against Serbia. Though Tatum played in four of the other five games (and was on the bench again in the semifinal against Serbia), his benching was one of the talking points of the tournament.
“It's one of those things that's been discussed a lot and debated a lot,” Tatum said.. “There was a period of time where it was like, is he a superstar or not? Then there was this big discussion of, can he play in a championship now? Then it became like, why can't he play (in the Olympics)? I thought, I just won a championship, it's summer, I can turn on ESPN and they're not talking about me, maybe I should take a break. But I think that's part of it, and maybe that's the level I've reached now in my career.”
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Tatum was in the Olympic Village and avoided speaking publicly about it while the Games were still going on, but he was aware of what was going on outside Paris, and while this was one of the few times the public seemed to support him, it still wasn't easy for him.
“It's been really hard. We're in the age of social media, you see everything,” Tatum said by phone. “You see tweets and podcasts and TV personalities expressing their opinions on whether it was a good decision or a terrible decision. Of course, I wanted to contribute more and I've never been in a situation like this. I started playing basketball at the YMCA when I was 3 years old and I've been playing ever since. So it's been different and it's been hard.”
U.S. coach Steve Kerr said he made the move in order to face Nikola Jokic and some big Serbian players, and he proved he meant it by using Tatum in every game remaining except for the semifinal rematch against Serbia.
Ironically, Celtics teammate Jrue Holiday benefited from Tatum's benching by starting against Serbia, but Holiday said Wednesday he thought the situation, which has been covered across the basketball world, may have been overblown.
“I see it everywhere all the time and people talk about it and I hear about it all the time and I'm like, 'Oh my God, I can only imagine what he's going through,'” Holiday said.. “I think he enjoyed it and having fun is part of the experience. Hopefully he had the opportunity, because I did too. It's fun to play with him and (Derrick) White, but it's also fun to play with the greatest players of all time.”
“I wasn't depressed. I didn't have a bad attitude. I wasn't mad at the world,” Tatum said. “I prepared myself, I did what was asked of me and I won a gold medal, right?”
Besides the rotation limitations, there's another reason Tatum fell out of the roster: After a great shooting performance in the second half of the regular season, he's been in the worst slump of his career since the playoffs began.
“I didn't make any jump shots when I was on Team USA. I don't know, it's the law of averages,” Tatum said. “When you're on Team USA, it puts you in a different rhythm. You don't know when you're going to get the ball. But it's part of being a team. I've done it before (at the Tokyo Olympics), so I just buy into that sort of thing.”
Tatum and those around him insist he's not injured and hasn't lost confidence in his shooting. He shot just 28.3 percent from long range in the playoffs and missed every jump shot he made while with the U.S. national team, but he said he's played basketball long enough that he's not worried about getting back in shape by October.
“I've now won two gold medals and won a championship. Things don't always go the way you expect them to, you know?,” Tatum said. “I've come to think, 'OK, this is part of life.' I'm just going to move on and enjoy these last few weeks before the season starts and get ready for next season.”
Tatum's summer has been full of success on and off the court: He was named the cover athlete for NBA 2K25, has a children's book coming out on Sept. 10, and signed the largest contract extension in NBA history (for now).
Jayson Tatum holds his son, Deuce, after the Celtics won the NBA title at home in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Now that he's finally settled, Tatum can focus on spending the rest of the summer with his 6-year-old son, Deuce, before he starts elementary school. While Tatum continues to learn how to deal with the increasingly bright spotlight, his son is beginning to understand what his dad means to the world.
“I think being at the school helped my son understand how big a deal it is to win and compete for a championship,” Tatum said. “He thought it was normal until he went to school and everyone was talking about the Celtics and us winning and competing for a championship. I think being around kids his age and even older kids in fourth and fifth grade helped him realize the magnitude of it.”
Last season, Tatum frequently visited Deuce's school, spending time with his son's classmates and teachers. Tatum said he loved reading to his son's class, much to the excitement of the kids. Deuce was the talk of the school when he was in kindergarten, so he got a taste of what it's like to be a father. While his son is growing up so quickly, Tatum said he is learning to let go as a parent.
“I'll be honest with you, I was nervous at first about sending my son to school,” Tatum said. “I was leaving my most precious possession, my child, in the care of a stranger five days a week. Of course, that's normal. He's going to go to school. But I was nervous at first.”
With Deuce in school, Tatum can focus on his day job. His goal with the Celtics is to keep the team on its toes next season. He said the Celtics must fight the urge to become complacent, as they did successfully last year under coach Joe Mazzulla.
The Celtics finished putting on the rings two weeks ago, and Tatum said everyone was excited about the process. When the team entered the facility earlier this month, Tatum told everyone that they needed to make sure their championship celebrations didn't last too long once the games began.
“After Ring Night, strangely enough, the thought came to me that I have to put it behind me,” he said. “Last year is last year. We did it. It's a dream come true. We worked so hard for it. But after Ring Night, you have to move on. You have to prepare for the second leg.”
Tatum and the Celtics had failed many times in the past before finally breaking through this summer, coming so close on multiple occasions but it only took one championship to change their reputation and outlook.
But this summer hasn't been perfect for Tatum. Along with his successes came his humiliations. Those moments this past season honed him into the Celtics' best player and now officially make him a championship-caliber superstar. So being benched by Team USA might be a positive for Tatum in the long run, even if it was overblown in the grand scheme of things.
“I've always been an optimist,” he says. “I believe everything happens for a reason. I don't know what it is yet, but I'm sure I'll find out.”
(Top photo: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
