After Steve Kerr continuously “disrespected,” according to the internet and media, and now Jayson Tatum, the player himself, finally spoke out about it. This comes after Team USA beat France to place for gold.

For context, for those who are unaware, Jayson Tatum was a “DNP” twice during Team USA’s run to gold. Both DNPs came against Nikola Jokic and Serbia, and for the gold match, he only played 11 minutes.

His lack of a role sparked controversy and confusion because many saw the superstar being treated cruelly and Kerr having something against Tatum. However, Tatum didn’t want to make this controversy a situation.

He has let his feelings be known despite keeping it respectful and professional.

“It was a tough personal experience on the court, but I’m not going to make any decision off emotions,” Tatum said. “If you asked me right now if I was going to play in 2028 — it is four years from now and I [would have] to take time and think about that. So, I’m not going to make any decision based off how this experience was or how I felt individually.”

Tatum said that while this was humbling, he is still human and has to deal with this emotionally.

“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 said. “I think the tough part is yes, you can use things to fuel you, but I’m still human.

“…Part of being in the moment, I’ve sacrificed and put a lot into this game and work really, really hard. So, in the moment it is tough. You’re not necessarily worried about fueling me for November or [whenever] the season is, but like I said, it’s something I’m going to take away from this and learn from this experience. It’s definitely challenging and humbling at the same time.”

This looks to be an ongoing story that will be unfolding in many different ways for not only Tatum but for Team USA as well.

The basketball world was shocked that Team USA’s head coach, Steve Kerr, did not play Jayson Tatum for a single minute, leaving him as a DNP, drawing major criticism towards them instead of focusing on a blow-out victory over Nikola Jokic and Serbia.

Kerr said he felt “like an idiot” and that it won’t happen again, reassuring the fans and the media that Tatum will be seeing playing time this Wednesday. While everyone found it disrespectful and incomprehensible, Tatum reportedly took it well.

“Jayson will play [Wednesday],” Kerr said. “I’m not going to answer your next question, which is if he plays, who doesn’t. But we’re going to need him, and part of this job for me is to keep everybody engaged and ready, because my experience with this is crazy stuff happens.”

Monday saw Joel Embiid benched for Anthony Davis and Kevin Durant’s debut, but fans still couldn’t believe the coaching staff had completely sat Tatum. Kerr said he didn’t know how to get Tatum involved because he wanted to have bigger lineups and minutes that were not panning out correctly.

Wednesday will be an important game, as Team USA takes on South Sudan. Their opponents nearly beat them before LeBron James knocked down the game-winning shot. It would have been a complete upset if Team USA would have lost.

Jayson Tatum Signs Supermax With Celtics

According to Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes, the Boston Celtics and Jayson Tatum have agreed to a supermax contract that is set for the next five years.

Tatum’s five-year supermax is worth $315 million, the largest contract in the NBA’s history. He jumped to number one after beating Jaylen Brown’s $295 million supermax contract.

There is a player option in the fifth year.