By just about every measure of success, Jayson Tatum is emerging as one of basketball’s tentpole stars. He’s routinely making first-team All-NBA, he just won a championship, and he’s on Team USA.
If there is a checklist for superstardom, he’s ticking off the boxes more than anyone his age. So when he and Tyrese Haliburton were benched in Team USA’s win over Serbia Sunday to open the Olympics, much of the basketball world was perplexed.
“Part of this job for me is to keep everybody engaged and ready, because my experience with this is crazy stuff happens,” Kerr said Monday, per The Athletic’s Joe Vardon.
Kerr went on to explain that he was sticking with a 10-man rotation, and Tatum will play against South Sudan on Wednesday. Serbia likewise used 10 players in Sunday’s game. But on Monday, Dream Team member Charles Barkley said on SiriusXM NBA Radio that coach Chuck Daly ensured each player saw the floor in that 1992 title run. Even the college kid, Christian Laettner, saw two minutes in the gold medal game.
“You can’t expect anybody to go over there and practice and not play in the damn Olympics,” Barkley said.
“Everybody on the team has to play”
🔊 Charles Barkley weighs in on the decision by Steve Kerr not to play Jayson Tatum against Serbia@TermineRadio | @Jumpshot8 pic.twitter.com/RQDvdbjGks
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) July 30, 2024
The reality is only Spain and France have used all 12 players so far in the opening of group play. What Kerr did was not out of the ordinary. But it sparked the question: Why would benching a player of Tatum’s stature even be an option at this point?
A few months ago, his place within the NBA hierarchy wasn’t so clear. Tatum was an early MVP favorite last fall, then fell back in the race as his team continued to roll through the league and his performance plateaued. When he sat down with The Athletic in February, he felt he wasn’t being held in the same regard as his peers, despite his track record.
“It’s a little unfair, because everybody don’t get the same treatment,” Tatum said. “I feel like even some guys older than me or the same age as me get looked at differently than I do. Fair or unfair, whatever it is, I think it’s because we’ve had so much early success.”
With the likes of LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Steph Curry aging out of their primes and likely title contention, the conversation over who will become the next face of the league has been ongoing all year. At that point, the Celtics had done everything but win a championship. Tatum saw that as the hurdle he had to clear.
“I feel like it’s mine to take,” Tatum told The Athletic in February. “I do feel like, if we win a championship, it would be more distinguished and clear. But I understand I’m in that short list for sure.”
Tatum would lead the Celtics to their 18th title in June. He didn’t win Finals MVP over Jaylen Brown despite a dominant performance in the clinching Game 5. He and Brown found a balance to keep the team rolling to a championship, even if they weren’t putting up gaudy numbers like Nikola Jokic, Curry and Giannis Antetokoumpo had on recent title runs.
Those players had these undeniably great performances that stood out above the rest of the league that year. While Tatum has filled out his resume for superstar status, the conversation around him and his place in the sport often treats Tatum like he is missing that special something. That was amplified when he received the DNP-CD Sunday, particularly as Anthony Edwards got minutes instead.
Tatum and Edwards have been inextricably linked over this past season as they both have made compelling cases to become the future of the league. They both were drafted as midrange scorers who rapidly developed into well-rounded two-way players. While Tatum has been in the conference finals most of his career and is just entering his prime, Edwards is just approaching that second phase when his novelty starts to wear off as the bar is set higher. Inevitably, all the traits that make a player enticing can turn into detriments when the public’s patience runs thin.
Carmelo Anthony, one of the most talented players of his era who never reached the finals, explained on the “7 PM in Brooklyn” podcast last week why Edwards has been at the forefront of the “next up” conversation.
“The reason why we put Anthony Edwards there is because of his aura,” Anthony said. “If JT had that aura, it’s over.”
That nebulous word, aura, is apparent when watching Edwards carry himself on the floor and in interviews. He has that unmistakable star charisma you see from actors, musicians and anyone who feels at home in the public eye. He loves ruffling feathers, talking trash and sparking conversation. Edwards is a show every time he steps in front of a camera.
Tatum has become a face of several high-profile marketing campaigns, but he is selective with his words. He makes it a point to avoid controversy. He doesn’t lean into the spotlight the same way Edwards does.
His game reflects his public persona: methodical and polished. Edwards brings an unbridled energy and unpredictability that creates excitement. Tatum and the Celtics were good for so long that their greatness this past season felt more like getting over the hump than a transformation. While he has plenty of unforgettable moments already, cruising through the postseason meant there were few moments of suspense for Tatum to become the hero.
The Celtics made being consistently great look easy, and that was a reflection of Tatum’s performance. It also contributed to Tatum’s benching Sunday, as Celtics teammate Jrue Holiday has become a starter for Team USA and Derrick White served as backup point guard against Serbia. Kerr played three centers to match up with Jokic on Sunday, but will likely move those minutes back to Tatum for most other Olympic matchups.
“Each game’s different. We’re going to need everybody,” Kerr said Monday. “And so matchups will determine at times who we play, but we need everybody ready to roll and whatever it takes to win that game, that’s what we need to do.”
After shooting 0-of-6 from deep for Team USA in the lead-up to the Olympics and just 28.3 percent in the playoffs, Tatum needs to shoot his way into the rotation with James and Durant already filling the big wing spots ahead of him.
As Team USA is mostly led by vets in their 30s, these games will be another checkpoint to sort out the hierarchy of the future. Tatum and Edwards will likely be the faces of Team USA when Los Angeles hosts the Olympics in 2028. Edwards will be 26, the same age Tatum is now.
He’ll be hitting that same point of his career when it’s time to prove you’re a winner or step aside. Tatum answered the call and got the ring he was missing. Even though he’s essentially just as good as he was back in February, now he has pundits throughout the sport defending his honor because he’s a champion. Eventually, Edwards will be held to that same standard.
Like Tatum, his path will be full of leaps forward and steps back.
This moment was a small bump in the road for Tatum. He can go out there for the rest of the Olympics and show why he is worthy of playing every night. He hoped a ring would put that conversation to bed, but it appears it will still be some time before Tatum no longer needs to prove himself.
(Top photo: Garrett Ellwood / NBAE via Getty Images)
