Melo Claims Jayson Tatum 'Wasn't Ready' for Olympics

Team USA Basketball is fresh on the mind, as the Paris Olympics ended on Aug. 10 with the U.S. beating France for the gold medal. Carmelo Anthony, aside from LeBron James and Kevin Durant, is the ultimate authoritative figure regarding Olympic commentary. On his podcast, 7 PM in Brooklyn, co-hosted by Kid Mero, Anthony offered an interesting opinion on Jayson Tatum's Team USA stint.

According to Steve Kerr and Anthony, Devin Booker was the "unsung hero of Team USA." The Phoenix Suns star embodied what it meant to sacrifice ego and fit in as a cog in the system. Anthony commended Booker for his Olympic performance and, more importantly, for taking a backseat for the sake of the team.

“He had to change his role and he killed it. He was the unsung MVP, but I think Jayson wasn't ready to accept his role," Anthony stated on 7 PM in Brooklyn.

Although Tatum experienced championship success while taking a backseat to Jaylen Brown, as the latter name skyrocketed in success by taking the Eastern Conference Finals MVP as well as the NBA Finals MVP honor, something occurred for Kerr to keep the St. Louis native from receiving significant Team USA minutes.

Tatum didn't play in the two games vs. Serbia and only played 11 minutes in the gold medal game vs. France.

While it's not apparent why Tatum played a diminished role in the Olympics, Anthony is a legitimate source of Olympic commentary.

There may be truth to Anthony's opinion, as the New York Knicks legend understands what it means to leave your ego at the door for multiple gold medals in return.