Jayson Tatum, a forward for the Boston Celtics, was named an NBA All-Star for the sixth year in a row on Thursday night. Along with Jalen Brunson, Donovan Mitchell, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Karl-Anthony Towns, they selected him as an Eastern Conference starter.
This is a big achievement for Tatum. Given that some people, like Charles Barkley, had fun teasing those who benched him during the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Team USA coach Steve Kerr didn’t play Jayson Tatum much during the Paris Summer Olympics. Every time Tatum, a Boston Celtics star, wins an award, people poke fun at Kerr’s decision. On a recent episode of “Inside the NBA” on TNT, Charles Barkley joined in on the fun.
Charles Barkley on Jayson Tatum:
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) January 24, 2025
"Great player, just not good enough to play in the Olympics…One of the five best in the East, but not good enough to represent his country." 😂😂
(h/t @ClutchPoints)
pic.twitter.com/EPsqJL3Vgi
He joked that even though Tatum is one of the best players in the Eastern Conference, Kerr didn’t think he was good enough to play in the Olympics. Barkley said, “Great player. just not good enough to play in the Olympics… one of the five best in the East, but not good enough to represent his country.”
Many Celtics supporters agreed with Barkley, believing that Tatum deserved more playing time given his impressive performance for the Boston Celtics.
Jayson Tatum’s quiet take on Magic Johnson’s remark
Jayson Tatum recently spoke about Magic Johnson’s comments on why the Lakers didn’t draft him in 2017. Tatum stayed calm and focused on his current success with the Celtics.
In an interview, he explained that Magic said the Lakers needed a point guard and already had enough forwards. Tatum admitted he was disappointed back then but doesn’t hold any hard feelings.
Jayson Tatum responded to Magic Johnson’s recent comments regarding the Lakers and the 2017 NBA Draft. https://t.co/RY313EgbHX
— NESN (@NESN) December 22, 2024
He said, “From my perspective, I grew up the biggest Kobe fan and wanted to play for the Lakers. And Magic explained it: they had too many forwards and that was their thought process at the time. It wasn’t like I got any animosity toward Magic or the Lakers. It was just as a kid. I was close to accomplishing a life-long dream, the way I thought it would be.”
