Jayson Tatum of USA poses with the men's basketball gold medal after winning it at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, France, August 10, 2024. /CFP
Jayson Tatum, who won the men's basketball gold medal with USA at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, told reporters that playing a limited role won't affect his decision to play for his country in the future.
Tatum appeared in only four of the six Games of USA at the 2024 Paris Games and missed the semifinals against Serbia. In the final against France, he played as a substitute, scoring no more than two points and three rebounds in no more than 11 minutes in total.
It's a bit surprising that Tatum wasn't given a bigger role after winning the 2024 NBA championship with the Boston Celtics.
"It was a tough personal experience on the court, but I'm not going to make any decision off emotions," Tatum said. "If you asked me right now if I was going to play in 2028 – it is four years from now and I [would have] to take time and think about that. So I'm not going to make any decision based off how this experience was or how I felt individually."
Jayson Tatum (#10) of USA drives toward the rim in the men's basketball final against France at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, France, August 10, 2024. /CFP
The 2028 Olympic Games will take place in Los Angeles, California and USA will definitely want to extend their dominance in basketball. Tatum will be 30 then, in his best year as a forward. The team may need him to be their leader.
As USA head coach Steve Kerr said repeatedly, there were too many talented players on his roster. Tatum was not the only one who had to make a sacrifice. 2023 NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) Joel Embiid didn't play much. Two-time NBA Finals MVP Kevin Durant didn't start in USA's first five games.
"A lot of people text me and reached out and said 'Make sure this fuels you,' which I appreciate. There's a lot of people that care about me," Tatum said. "I think the tough part is yes, you can use things to fuel you, but I'm still human."
"...Part of being in the moment, I've sacrificed and put a lot into this game and work really, really hard," he added. "So in the moment it is tough. You're not necessarily worried about fueling me for November or [whenever] the season is, but like I said, it's something I'm going to take away from this and learn from this experience. It's definitely challenging and humbling at the same time."