Charles Barkley's Honest Quote About Jayson Tatum Benching

NBA legend Charles Barkley spoke about Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum getting limited playing time for Team USA.

Mar 3, 2017; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns former guard Charles Barkley in attendance of the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Talking Stick Resort Arena. The Suns defeated the Thunder 118-111. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sportsfor / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Jayson Tatum has been one of the most talked about topics over the previous few weeks.

The Boston Celtics superstar is coming off a year where he led the franchise to their first NBA Championship since the 2008 season.

However, he did not get a lot of playing time during the 2024 Olympics in Paris (he sat out for two entire games).

Recently, Basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley spoke about Steve Kerr's decision (via LeBatardShow).

Barkley: "There's no reason for him not to play Jayson Tatum. Jayson Tatum would have been the second-best player on Serbia. Probably would have been the best player on France. For him not to get any minutes in two games, come on man, that wasn't right, that wasn't fair. If you're going to the Olympics, you want to play... Them guys dedicated their summer to the United States. To go over there and not get to play, I didn't like that at all."

Barkley has a lot of credibility when talking about the subject because he played for Team USA at the 1992 Olympics.

In addition, the 1993 MVP is one of the best 50 players of all time.

"Everybody on the team has to play"

🔊 Charles Barkley weighs in on the decision by Steve Kerr not to play Jayson Tatum against Serbia@TermineRadio | @Jumpshot8 pic.twitter.com/RQDvdbjGks

— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) July 30, 2024

Tatum finished this past season with averages of 26.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.0 steals per contest while shooting 47.1% from the field and 37.6% from the three-point range in 74 games.

He made his fifth straight NBA All-Star Game.

Yea, Daddy!! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/N0lhB6ymA4

— NBA (@NBA) June 18, 2024

Despite the controversy over minutes, Kerr deserves credit for leading Team USA to its fifth straight Gold medal.