"Just not good enough" - Charles Barkley makes feelings clear on Jayson Tatum's superstar status 

Boston Celtics superstar forward Jayson Tatum earned his sixth NBA All-Star selection on Thursday, getting named an Eastern Conference starter for the fifth consecutive season. Following the announcement, NBA legend-turned-TNT analyst Charles Barkley comically pushed back against Tatum's selection, seemingly questioning his superstar status.

Tatum entered Thursday's road clash against the LA Lakers as the leading scorer (27.4 points per game) on the league's third-best team (31-13). Meanwhile, he is coming off his first NBA championship, with him and his co-star Jaylen Brown serving as Boston's one-two punch.

Nevertheless, during Thursday's TNT broadcast, Barkley called attention to the six-time All-Star's limited role during Team USA's 2024 Paris Olympic gold medal run. U.S. coach Steve Kerr infamously benched Tatum in two group phase and knockout round outings against Serbia for matchup purposes, garnering nationwide criticism.

"Great player. Just not good enough to play in the Olympics, but he's a great player," Barkley said. "One of the five best in the East, but not good enough to represent his country."

While Tatum ultimately secured his second Olympic gold medal over the summer, he made a muted impact. Across four outings, he averaged 5.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game, shooting 38.1%, including missing all his 3-point attempts.

Fortunately for Tatum, international play has no bearing on All-Star voting. So, Barkley would likely have a tough time arguing against his selection from an NBA production standpoint.

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Steve Kerr praised Jayson Tatum's Olympic mindset days before Charles Barkley's jab

Charles Barkley's dig at Jayson Tatum came two days after Steve Kerr reflected on the four-time All-NBA selectee's Olympic mindset. According to the veteran coach, Tatum's demotion was no fault of his own, and he handled the unprecedented circumstances as well as possible.

"I will tell you that Jayson was an absolute dream to coach," Kerr said on 95.7 The Game's "Willard & Dibs" on Tuesday.

"During all that stuff, that so-called controversy, you might notice there wasn't a single quote from Jayson. It was everybody else talking about it. Jayson is an amazing guy and an incredible player, and he couldn't have handled it any better when he was there."

While Kerr and Tatum appear to have moved past the controversy and made amends, Barkley seemingly won't let Tatum live down the experience anytime soon.

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