NBA Legend Carmelo Anthony Reacts To Jayson Tatum Benching

Carmelo Anthony spoke about Jayson Tatum not getting a lot of playing time at the Olympics.

Sep 28, 2021; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Carmelo Anthony (7) answers questions during media day at the UCLA Health and Training Center in El Segundo, Calif. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Earlier this month, Boston Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum helped lead Team USA to a Gold medal at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

That said, Tatum had limited playing time during the tournament.

Many people around the NBA have voiced their thoughts on the subject.

The latest person to give their opinion is NBA legend Carmelo Anthony (via his podcast 7PM in Brooklyn, h/t ClutchPoints).

Anthony: "I understand why Tatum may have not played. I don't agree with how they went about it... I'm cool with you saying he's not going to play, just be honest. This is where we have a lack of communication... If I'm Tatum, I would be pissed. He's the cover athlete of 25, on Sports Illustrated, 2K. This is male athlete of the year, and it's somebody that you were building Team USA around... I just wish the communication was a little bit more between Kerr and him."

Tatum had been coming off a season where he made his fifth straight NBA All-Star Game.

He averaged 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.

In addition, the Celtics were the best team in the league with a 64-18 record and they won the 2024 NBA Championship over the Dallas Mavericks.

“There was no communication… He got one of the greatest resumes in the last 5 years. What he went through, I want everybody to see that. The whole world knew he was pissed, but he was resilient.”

Carmelo Anthony on Jayson Tatum with Team USA 👀pic.twitter.com/wkSd01ILhs

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) August 17, 2024

Anthony has a lot of credibility when speaking about Team USA because he competed in the Olympics four times (2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016).

The future Hall of Famer won three Gold medals (and one Bronze).