Steve Kerr talks Jayson Tatum's Olympic bench press before the Warriors-Celtics tilt

Aside from reaching the top of the podium in Paris, Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum's lack of playing time was one of the biggest storylines to emerge from Team USA's gold medal run in men's basketball at the Olympics 2024 resulted.

Along with a group of other NBA stars, Tatum didn't play a single minute in Team USA's opening game against Serbia and also spent the entire semifinal game against the same country on the bench.

Before the Golden State Warriors' game against the Celtics on Wednesday night at TD Garden, coach Steve Kerr addressed Tatum's lack of playing time in Paris.

“Do I regret anything? We cannot control history. That’s what this job is,” Kerr said. “From the beginning in Vegas, the whole thing was, ‘Hey, we’re in this together. We have 12 Hall of Famers and we really want to win.' I don't think much about it other than I didn't enjoy not playing against Jayson against Serbia and not playing against Joel (Embiid) against South Sudan.

“These aren’t fun decisions, but our guys were all great. They are committed to each other, they are committed to winning the gold medal. … They all carried themselves with dignity and class. That's the real story. But we live in a time where we have to talk about things that don't actually matter.

In four Olympic appearances, Tatum averaged just 5.3 points in 17.7 minutes per game on 38.1% shooting from the field. Only Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton appeared in fewer games (three) as Team USA en route to a gold medal.

Tatum is off to a great start to the 2024-25 NBA season, posting 30.0 points and 7.4 rebounds per game on 48.1% shooting from the field in eight appearances.

And it appeared Celtics fans had turned their backs on Tatum on Wednesday night as they greeted Kerr with boos during the pregame introduction at TD Garden.