“Jayson Tatum's father: Celtics star wasn't good at not playing” on Kerr's USA squad | News, results, highlights, statistics and rumors

According to his father, Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum was “not good at not playing” when he represented Team USA at the 2024 Summer Olympics.

“I was okay with it if it made sense. If it made sense not to play him like an antagonist,” Justin Tatum told Marc J. Spears of Andscape. “But if you can’t find time for him or whatever (USA head coach) said Steve Kerr. That doesn't make too much sense. (Jayson) had a long season and a long summer and I just wanted to make sure he was healthy.

“He wasn’t good at not playing. But he wasn't in the room sulking or throwing chairs around or having it be a topic of conversation at dinner. He said he could have stayed with his family, stayed home or done this, That's true. But he was happy to be out there winning gold and he never really played with LeBron (James), Steph (Curry) or KD (Kevin Durant) which is what we talked about.

Celtics star Jaylen Brown also previously described his teammate as “pissed off” when he commented on the matter during an appearance in October The Stephen A. Smith Show.

Tatum's playing time was one of the biggest subplots surrounding the USA in Paris. He was on the verge of winning an NBA title with the Celtics and earning first-team All-NBA honors for the third straight year, yet he played the second-fewest minutes on the team and didn't play at all in two of the six games.

The Celtics should be grateful to Kerr for how he utilized the 6-foot-2 forward. He averaged 30.0 points, 7.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists in eight games, and Boston is off to a 7-1 start as it attempts to successfully defend its championship.

It really looks like Tatum has a chip on his shoulder considering what transpired during the Paris Games.

The Olympics have briefly become a storyline again as the Celtics host Kerr and the Golden State Warriors on Monday night. It seems unlikely that Tatum will face the Warriors coach head-on at TD Garden. He will simply let his performance speak for itself.