Tom Brady was full of praise for Jayson Tatum as the Boston Celtics star won gold at the Olympics despite playing a fringe role .
Tatum’s Paris 2024 experience will be a mixed bag for sure for him as he failed to be an integral part of Steve Kerr’s plans. Despite his Olympics not being the headline-grabbing campaign he’d have hoped for, he nonetheless has claimed gold and earned plaudits from the NFL legend.
Kerr benched Tatum for the entirety of two Olympic matches, including the semi-final against Nikola Jokic and Serbia and then featured in just 11 minutes of the gold medal game against France. But Tatum never risked upsetting the team and remained professional throughout the campaign despite starring for the Celtics as they ended their 16-year wait for a championship.
Tatum’s attitude pleased Brady who said he has more respect for the 26-year-old than he had before. "A true professional! A true champion! And a great teammate!" Brady commented Thursday on SportsCenter's Instagram.
"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!"
There were reports that Tatum was furious with his game time but he previously told The Athletic that was not the case. “I wasn't moping around. I didn't have an attitude. I wasn't angry at the world. I stayed ready and did what was asked of me and I won a gold medal, right?” Tatum said.
“I know I didn't make a jump shot when I was with Team USA. I don't know, law of averages. It's a weird rhythm thing being with Team USA; you never exactly know when you're gonna get the ball. But that's part of it. You sign up for that because I've done it before (at the Tokyo Games).”
While criticism may not have come from Tatum, it did from his mother who voiced her frustration at Kerr after seeing her son benched against Serbia. Replying to a fan who questioned whether Tatum’s absence was due to injury, she replied: "No he not. But if you find out what’s going on please let me know – unacceptable and makes NO SENSE."
She then followed that tweet up with another, writing: "If Kerr is watching this and willingly deciding ‘Yeah, Jayson Tatum couldn’t help here’ then he legitimately cannot coach in 2028."
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