The Golden State Warriors and Boston Celtics had their first matchup of the regular season on Wednesday night. This was a highly anticipated game for many reasons. One reason in particular was the fact that Jayson Tatum was benched at Paris 2024 this summer by Warriors head coach Steve Kerr.
Despite being a perennial All-NBA first team forward, Tatum played just fewer minutes than Tyrese Haliburton for Team USA in Paris. Loyal to their superstar and 2024 NBA champion, Celtics fans were quick to make their opinions on Kerr heard as they rained down boos from the moment he was introduced.
Via @barstoolsports: “Celtics Fans didn’t hold back BOOs on Steve Kerr during intros tonight”
Celtics Fans didn’t hold back on the BOOs on Steve Kerr during the intros tonight
pic.twitter.com/Qlrkiixmin— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) November 7, 2024
While this was a big topic in the media and among fans, Tatum is the only person not interested in the plot. After Wednesday night’s Warriors-Celtics game, Tatum was asked about his Olympic bench and responded with this candid answer.
“That’s part of this job, what I’ve been doing my whole career,” Tatum said. “People want me to be louder, people want me to be meaner, whatever. One thing about Jayson is — I’m always going to do whatever the hell I want to do. (I’ll) approach things that I want to approach in what I feel is sincere to who I am as a person.”
Jayson Tatum was asked how people wanted him to respond on the Olympic bench:
“People want me to be taller, people want me to be meaner, whatever. One thing about Jayson is — I’m always going to do whatever the hell I want to do.” pic.twitter.com/AWc8mLVsMq
— Noa Dalzell (@NoaDalzell) November 7, 2024
Regardless of how anyone would like him to react to the benching, Tatum wanted to wrap up how he really felt about the whole thing.
– We react differently. It is easy to say, if they were in my shoes, what they would do. I appreciate when it comes from a good place but like I said, I’m always going to react, respond, approach things the way I want to,” Tatum said.
The Warriors and Celtics are two teams currently poised to make some noise for the remainder of the season, and if current trends continue, they could be seen again in June.
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