It’s hard to be a coveted superstar in the NBA. Jayson Tatum bore the brunt of it during his stint at the Paris Olympics. Steve Kerr elected to not play him heavily during the tournament despite his championship conquest with the Celtics. The sentiment hurt many and divided the NBA community. But as the person himself, Tatum was only looking for some relief, which he unfortunately never received.

For the first time, when speaking to the New York Times, the Celtics’ skillful forward got to speak about his thoughts during the Olympics. His benching didn’t affect him as much as it did the media. While he knew very well of the outrage, Tatum had also grown used to it since he had been the main subject of the media throughout the season.

“There was a period of is he a superstar or not? Then it was a big debate, like, is he championship ready now? Then it’s like how could he not get in the (Olympics)? I’m like, I just won a championship, it’s the summertime, it might be nice to have a little break where you don’t turn on ESPN and they’re talking about you. But I guess this is part of it,” he told the New York Times.

But amid the attention and rampant support, Jayson Tatum also took time to analyze his thoughts. And it was a difficult adjustment for him to make. Since coming into the NBA, the budding star has been an active part of the Celtics’ game plan. Additionally, he had proved to be a compact option on the international stage helping Team USA bag gold in 2020. Being at the end of the bench was new for him.

“You see all the tweets and the people on the podcasts and people on TV giving their opinion on whether they thought it was a good decision or it was an outrageous decision or whatever. Obviously, I wanted to contribute more, and I’ve never been in (this) situation. I started playing basketball at (age) 3 at the YMCA, and I’ve never not played, so it was different and it was challenging,” Tatum said of the experience.

His reaction was far from his public opposition of Steve Kerr immediately after the conclusion of the Olympics. He posted a tweet that read, “We will avenge Jayson Tatum,” possibly sharing his dismay over the head coach’s decisions. But it seems that was in the haste of the public support rather than his true thoughts.

Steve Kerr felt like an idiot not playing Jayson Tatum

While the media and fans launched a scathing attack on Steve Kerr, the head coach remained mute. Boston legend Bob Cousy even made accusations that the Warriors HC has a grudge against the Shamrocks. But the reality is Kerr was put in the toughest position. Tatum was one of eleven elite NBA cavalry representing Team USA. Not only was it difficult to devise a rotation for all, but the games were also shorter.

But even then, Kerr admitted to feeling pathetic about his inability to inject Jayson Tatum for more game time. “He’s a total pro. He’s First-Team All-NBA three years in a row. I felt like an idiot not playing him,” he said after a group stage game.

There was never a doubt about the service that Tatum could provide. Nor did Steve Kerr have any reservations over the Celtics ace’s vibrant skillset. He was in awe just as every NBA fan is. However, with the task of restoring glory to Team USA, tough decisions had to be made. And based on matchups, Kerr did so.

The result was a gold medal, which was the chief target for the NBA-laden team. At the same time, it’s hard to see why Jayson Tatum couldn’t have played more, considering the margins by which Team USA kept winning barring the final two games. Maybe that was where the veteran coach was at fault.

Nonetheless, it doesn’t seem like Jayson Tatum is holding any resentment toward the Warriors head coach.