Celtics star Jayson Tatum is one of the many stars to earn a spot on this year’s USA Olympic basketball team. And while this is not his first appearance, he did recently admit to being star-struck sharing the court with legends like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant.
“I’ve been in the league for seven years so I’ve played against all these guys. I’ve had to go against Kevin Durant in the playoffs twice and LeBron and I played against Steph in the Finals. So I have that level of appreciation for them. [LeBron James, Steph Curry, and Kevin Durant] went off to the side and took a picture. I had to take a step back and be like ‘Man those are 3 of the best players ever to play this game and we are teammates,'” said Tatum. “This is dope.”
Tatum, 26, was the third overall pick in 2017. After ascending into a star for the Celtics, and winning a championship this summer, he received an invite to Team USA and accepted the chance to join forces with some of the game’s All-Time greats.
With Durant, Tatum has encountered him multiple times in the playoffs. During Kevin’s stint with the Brooklyn Nets, he came within inches of beating the Celtics and advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals. Even after Durant left the Nets, his clashes with the Celtics did not go forgotten, and he speaks highly of Tatum and the crew to this day.
LeBron James was also a common adversary for Tatum back in the day. During his stints with the Heat and Cavaliers, Tatum’s young Celtics teams were always a threat in the East and they clashed on more than one occasion. LeBron’s Cavs teams always pulled out in the end, until he went to the West and the Celtics finally took control.
Stephen Curry is arguably the one who is least familiar with Tatum, but they did face off in the Finals back in 2022. It was a high-level, hard-fought series from both sides but Curry’s Warriors pulled out with a victory to win the championship.
To watch all of those legends, his former competitors at one point, now share their court with him as teammates is a surreal experience for Tatum and it’s a sign that he’s made it to the top of the food chain. While the young swingman was not named as the Finals MVP for his performance in the playoffs, he’s still one of the best players in the game with averages of 26.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game on 47.1% shooting last season.
But to truly take the next level as an NBA elite, Tatum will have to continue his run of dominance and lead the Celtics to another championship next season. With most of the core roster returning (including Tatum, Brown, Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, and Kristaps Porzingis) the Celtics will be in a great position to defend their title.
But first, Tatum’s only goal is to bring home the gold for Team USA and he’s going to enjoy the process for all that it’s worth.
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