Tom Brady Sends Strong Message to Jayson Tatum After Olympics Admission

One of the biggest storylines that emerged out of Team USA's gold-medal triumph in the 2024 Paris Olympics was the fact that newly-crowned NBA champion Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics barely got any playing time throughout the tournament.

It's not as if Tatum was completely left out of the rotation, but the majority of fans believe that he deserved much more playing time than head coach Steve Kerr gave him.

In a recent statement, Tatum admitted that he played a minimal role for the team in their quest for a gold medal. The five-time All-Star, however, also said that he accepts the fact that this is all just part of the game.

"I know I didn't make a jump shot when I was with Team USA," he said, via The Athletic. "... You never exactly know when you're gonna get the ball. But that's part of it."

ESPN SportsCenter shared Tatum's quote on Instagram, which, unsurprisingly, immediately went viral (close to 200,000 likes in less than 12 hours). So much so that even the great Tom Brady just had to chime in.

"A true professional! A true champion! And a great teammate!" Brady wrote in the comments section. "We should celebrate people who care more about the team success than the individual success!

"There are so many people involved in every organization who don’t always play a ' starting' role but play a huge role in the success of the team. I have more respect for Jayson Tatum now more than ever! 💯 now this is what we should be teaching our kids!"

That's some pretty high praise from the GOAT himself, which speaks volumes of how Tatum is viewed by the sports community. The Celtics superstar may not have played a major role for the national squad in the Olympics, but there's no denying that he's earned the respect of fans, pundits, his peers, and even the one and only Tom Brady.

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