The NBA world was shocked when Jayson Tatum was benched with a DNP-CD when Team USA faced off against Serbia on Sunday night. As shocked as spectators were, perhaps no one was more shocked than Jayson Tatum himself.

In an interview with Joe Vardon of The Athletic, Jayson Tatum broke his silence on the unexpected benching he received during the Olympics.

“Definitely a humbling experience, right?” Tatum said. “Win a championship, new contract, cover of (NBA) 2K (video game) and then you sit a whole game. Cover of Sports Illustrated. So it was definitely a humbling experience.”

The 2024 Paris Olympics has had a plethora of shocking moments: Kawhi Leonard questionably dropping out, Derrick White getting picked instead of Jaylen Brown, Joel Embiid getting benched, and now Jayson Tatum getting benched. Make no mistake, there’s been a heavy dosage of drama and controversy throughout these Olympics. It’s unheard of for a reigning NBA Finals MVP to get left off the team entirely, or a player the caliber of Jayson Tatum’s level to get benched.

The most beautiful thing about the Olympics though, is that this current team is so stacked with talent, that there shouldn’t be any hard feelings about playing time. Every game is about match ups, and Steve Kerr has done a masterful job at figuring it all out thus far. The United States may have looked shaky during the exhibition games, but they’ve very clearly found their groove throughout the main stages.

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