Tom Brady praises Jayson Tatum for his humble response to Olympic benching
BOSTON -- Jayson Tatum knows that he did not play well during the Paris Olympics, which ultimately led to his sporadic playing time and benching by Steve Kerr. But the Celtics star isn't sulking or making any excuses, which has earned him the praise of another New England sports legend: Tom Brady.
Brady has always been a big Tatum fan, but the former Patriots quarterback has a lot more respect for the reigning NBA champ and two-time Gold Medalist after Tatum opened up about his Olympic struggles to The Athletic's Jared Weiss.
Tatum logged two DNPs in games against Serbia and then played just 11 minutes in Team USA's victory over France in the Gold Medal game. There were reports that Tatum was furious over his benchings and lack of playing time, but he said that was not the case in his chat with the Athletic.
"I wasn't moping around. I didn't have an attitude. I wasn't angry at the world. I stayed ready and did what was asked of me and I won a gold medal, right? I know I didn't make a jump shot when I was with Team USA. I don't know, law of averages. It's a weird rhythm thing being with Team USA; you never exactly know when you're gonna get the ball. But that's part of it. You sign up for that because I've done it before (at the Tokyo Games)," Tatum told The Athletic.
That humble response caught a lot of eyes, and it got even bigger when Sportscenter posted the quote on its Instagram account. It got the attention of Brady, who gave Tatum some heavy praise in the comments section.
"A true professional! A true champion! And a great teammate!" Brady wrote. "We should celebrate people who care more about the team success than the individual success!
"There are so many people involved in every organization who don't always play a ' starting' role but play a huge role in the success of the team. I have more respect for Jayson Tatum now more than ever! 100% now this is what we should be teaching our kids!," Brady added.
Now that is some high praise from The GOAT himself. That has to make Tatum feel even better about the situation.
And this is nothing new for Tatum, who is pretty humble about anything and everything that is thrown his way. While he's not the most outspoken -- or even entertaining -- star in the NBA, he goes about his business in a quiet, calm, and respectful manner. While non-Boston fans might find him boring, Tatum has never been in the news for the wrong reason and never stirs the pot. We'll gladly take that in Boston compared to some of the off-court issues other stars bring to the table.
While the Olympics were a struggle for Tatum, he's not going to let that take away from the fact that he was once again part of a team that brought home Olympics Gold. Add on his first NBA championship, the numerous accolades that followed, and now some heavy praise from Tom Brady, and it has been one incredible summer for Jayson Tatum.