Jrue Holiday explains how Jayson Tatum reacted to Olympic role

BOSTON — How did Jayson Tatum handle his reduced role at the 2024 Summer Olympics? Like a pro, according to one teammate who knows him well.

Jrue Holiday, one of three Boston Celtics on the U.S. team that won gold in Paris, said Tatum remained focused on winning even as head coach Steve Kerr left him on the bench for long stretches.

“I think everybody here knows JT,” Holiday said Wednesday at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a Raising Cane’s restaurant in Downtown Crossing. “He’s the ultimate professional. He already knows what it is and what the ultimate goal is, and I don’t think he really needed any encouragement. I think it was just more so about staying ready whenever it’s his time to be called.”

Despite making three consecutive All-NBA first teams and helping lead the loaded Celtics to an NBA title two months earlier, Tatum played the second-fewest minutes of any Team USA player, ahead of only Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton. He did not see action in two of the team’s six games, including the come-from-behind win over Serbia in the semifinals, and scored just 21 total points in the tournament.

Tatum admitted it was “tough” and “humbling” to take a back seat on a talent-rich U.S. roster headlined by LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, all of whom were likely playing in their final Olympics.

“A lot of people text me and reached out and said, ‘Make sure this fuels you,’ which I appreciate. There’s a lot of people that care about me,” Tatum told reporters after the gold medal game against France. “I think the tough part is yes, you can use things to fuel you, but I’m still human.”

Holiday and fellow Celtics guard Derrick White both were important role players for Team USA, though White’s playing time dipped in the medal rounds. Boston players made up a quarter of the 12-player squad.

“Playing with them is pretty comfortable,” Holiday said. “We did it for a while, and we won together, but to go over there and kind of represent our country together was really cool.”

Tatum and Jaylen Brown, who was left off the Olympic team, will have an early opportunity to show Kerr what he was missing when the Celtics host the Golden State Warriors on Nov. 6.