Team USA's 2024 NBA champion has finally arrived in the group. Jayson Tatum was excused for the first two days of the US national team's training camp for “personal reasons.”
He has finally arrived at the training camp, where he will have to battle in a particularly tight rotation on the wings.
LeBron James And Kevin Durant should be incumbents in positions 3 and 4, while Jayson Tatum And Kawhi Leonard should come off the bench.
“First and foremost, you have guys with a lot of character who understand what we’re trying to accomplish and understand how difficult it is to put 12 new guys on a team with 40 days to get to know each other, train and be away from their families to try to win a gold medal,” Jayson Tatum recalls. “And that's all that matters. Not who starts the games, not how many points you average. All that matters is that we come home with the gold medal.”
Playing with opponents
The players will also have to get to grips with each other. Many have never played together, like Stephen Curry and LeBron James, and they will have to find a collective dynamic to win another gold medal.
“So you have to have that mindset and have guys that understand that you have to adapt a little bit. Always be yourself. Be who you are, whoever got you to this point. But we all have to change a little bit, especially our roles, no matter what we have to do to win,” believes the Celtics winger.
For Jayson Tatum, who already played at the 2019 World Cup and the 2021 Olympics, Team USA is also an opportunity to team up with players he's been competing with for the rest of the season.
Whether it was with Joel Embiid (three playoff series in 2018, 2020 and 2023), or with the coaches, Steve Kerr and the Warriors won the title against the Celtics in 2022. This is also the case for his assistant, Erik Spoelstra, whom he has met in the playoffs four times in the last five years.
“Joel is a great friend of mine. There were so many battles throughout the regular season and so many battles during the playoffs,” Jayson Tatum concludes. “That’s the fun part, you’re on the same team with all these guys that you’re competing against, battling against and playing against. Even the coaches. I’ve played against Spo (Erik Spoelstra) so many times. And it’s also nice to be on the same team with Steve Kerr and all these guys, like T-Lue (Tyronn Lue).”
| Jayson Tatum | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | LF | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2017-18 | BOS | 80 | 31 | 47.5 | 43.4 | 82.6 | 0.6 | 4.4 | 5.0 | 1.6 | 2.1 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 13.9 |
| 2018-19 | BOS | 79 | 31 | 45.0 | 37.3 | 85.5 | 0.9 | 5.2 | 6.0 | 2.1 | 2.1 | 1.1 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 15.7 |
| 2019-20 | BOS | 66 | 34 | 45.0 | 40.3 | 81.2 | 1.0 | 6.0 | 7.0 | 3.0 | 2.1 | 1.4 | 2.4 | 0.9 | 23.4 |
| 2020-21 | BOS | 64 | 36 | 45.9 | 38.6 | 86.8 | 0.8 | 6.6 | 7.4 | 4.3 | 1.9 | 1.2 | 2.7 | 0.5 | 26.4 |
| 2021-22 | BOS | 76 | 36 | 45.3 | 35.3 | 85.3 | 1.1 | 6.9 | 8.0 | 4.4 | 2.3 | 1.0 | 2.9 | 0.6 | 26.9 |
| 2022-23 | BOS | 74 | 37 | 46.6 | 35.0 | 85.4 | 1.1 | 7.7 | 8.8 | 4.6 | 2.2 | 1.1 | 2.9 | 0.7 | 30.1 |
| 2023-24 | BOS | 74 | 36 | 47.1 | 37.6 | 83.3 | 0.9 | 7.2 | 8.1 | 4.9 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 2.5 | 0.6 | 26.9 |
| Total | 513 | 34 | 46.0 | 37.5 | 84.4 | 0.9 | 6.3 | 7.2 | 3.5 | 2.1 | 1.1 | 2.3 | 0.7 | 23.1 | |
How to read the stats? GM = Games Played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots Made / Shots Attempted; 3pts = 3-pointers / 3-pointers Attempted; LF = Free Throws Made / Free Throws Attempted; Off = Offensive Rebound; Def = Defensive Rebound; Tot = Total Rebounds; Pd = Assists; Fte: Personal Fouls; Int = Steals; Bp = Loose Balls; Ct: Blocks; Pts = Points.
