The Big Lead

Is Jayson Tatum really going on an NBA revenge tour because of Steve Kerr?

By Joe Lago

Oct 22, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) drives to the basket against New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) in the second quarter at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images
Oct 22, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) drives to the basket against New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) in the second quarter at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images / David Butler II-Imagn Images
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While Jayson Tatum showed off his revamped 3-point shot and looked like a bona fide MVP candidate in the Boston Celtics' 132-109 victory against the helpless New York Knicks, the Opening Night conversation on social media wasn't focused on the Celtics' 18th title banner or their championship rings.

RELATED: Jayson Tatum reveals the ‘happiest person in the world’ about his Olympic benching

The hot topic was the perceived motivation behind Tatum's 37-point, four-rebound, 10-assist performance — the injustice he experienced over the summer in France.

Yes, nearly three months after the Paris Olympics, Tatum's controversial Team USA benching by Steve Kerr was revisited and credited as the driving force behind the Celtics star's monster game. And to take the theory further, the Olympic snub will send the five-time All-Star into a season-long revenge tour against the entire league.

That's the outcome head coach Joe Mazzulla is hoping for, since he was "the happiest person the world" over Tatum getting DNP'd twice and playing just 71 minutes in six Olympic games.

Bill Simmons spoke for Celtics Nation when he tweeted: "Thank you Steve Kerr!"

ESPN's "First Take" kept the Tatum/Kerr debate going on Wednesday morning.

"We're going to state this as long as I'm breathing: What Steve Kerr did to Jayson Tatum in the Olympics is egregious," Stephen A. Smith said. "You don't go up to an All-NBA first-team player over the last three years, who just won a championship a month earlier, who spent the year averaging 27 a game and walk up to him before a game and say, 'I don't know how I'm going to find minutes for you.'"

Kendrick Perkins, who won a championship in Boston, echoed the sentiments of Celtics Twitter.

"The rest of the league," Perkins said, "you can thank Steve Kerr for what Jayson Tatum is about to do to you."

Steph Curry likes to call himself the "petty king" for using any type of slight as fuel, but the Golden State Warriors superstar will lose that self-proclaimed title if Tatum really does ride this Olympic snub to a second straight championship and an NBA Finals MVP award.

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