The Boston Celtics had three representatives at the Olympics this summer, however only two of them saw the court in more ways than the other.

Jayson Tatum was benched for the first time in his basketball career because of “matchups” and having a healthy Kevin Durant. However, head coach Steve Kerr later said that he “felt like an idiot” for benching Tatum.

Tatum’s utilization in the Olympics sparked speculation as to why, but also how it’ll impact Tatum moving forward into this next season as defending champions.

Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said that he’s not concerned with Tatum’s motivation for the upcoming season after the way he was used in the Olympics this summer and coming off a very short offseason.

“I expect JT to come in with the utmost motivation regardless of what happened to him in the summer. Everything nowadays is so short-sighted… He’s got a long time to go. With that are going to come ebbs and flows. He understands that. The one thing about him regardless of the circumstances, his work ethic, his habits and his mindset don’t change.”

It’s worth mentioning that in a recent podcast, The Ringer’s Bill Simmons said that Mazzulla went to France to check in on Tatum during the Olympics to make sure everything was fine with his star player.

“I think even when Tatum was struggling during the Olympics, Mazzulla flew out to France to kinda make sure everything was okay. That guy is locked in and knows his roster. I think the jump he made from Year 1 to Year 2 has been astounding. People love that dude.”

Although Tatum’s scoring averages dropped a bit last season, he improved his presence on the court overall with his playmaking, defense, and understanding of the game. It all helped lead the Celtics to an NBA championship.

Tatum has talked about the Olympics and said it was “different” and “challenging” not being called on in some of the games. Kerr said that he expects to hear it from the TD Garden when the Warriors come into the city on Nov. 6.

“I think they’re going to be all over me… That’s fine.”

It’s worth keeping in mind that the Olympics might’ve added to Boston’s franchise pillars overall motivation for the season as Tatum was benched and Jaylen Brown wasn’t invited due to political reasons with Nike.

Having both Tatum and Brown with a shared revenge mindset is going to be dangerous for the rest of the league.

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Photo Credit: Bart Young, NBAE Getty Images