2x Olympic gold medalist Jayson Tatum poses with girlfriend Ella Mai and their new-born baby after Olympics win
After Team USA won the men's basketball event at the 2024 Paris Olympics on Saturday, Jayson Tatum posed for portraits with his family. The images that went viral online included his girlfriend, Grammy-winning singer Ella Mai, his firstborn son, Jayson Jr., and their newborn baby.
This was one of the first glimpses of the two-time Olympic gold medalist's child with Mai, as they previously never revealed the pregnancy publicly.
A video of Mai holding the couple's newborn is also doing the rounds on the internet.
Jayson Tatum and Ella Mai are rumored to have started dating in 2020. However, they made their first public appearance together in July 2022. While they never hinted at any news regarding their pregnancy, the "Heart on My Sleeve" singer was spotted with her baby bump while she was celebrating the Boston Celtics' NBA championship with Tatum in June.
Jayson Tatum cites limited role with Team USA a "tough personal experience"
After leading the Boston Celtics to the NBA championship two months ago, Jayson Tatum had a comparatively limited role in Team USA's roster for its 2024 Paris Olympics campaign. The five-time NBA All-Star did not play in two of the six Olympic games, including the team's semifinal matchup against Serbia on Thursday.
In Team USA's gold medal game against France on Saturday, Tatum played 11 minutes off the bench and recorded two points, three rebounds and one steal as the Americans clinched a 98-87 victory against the host team.
According to ESPN's Brian Windhorst, Jayson Tatum said that it was a "tough personal experience" having a limited role and also cleared that it will not influence whether he'll represent Team USA in the next Olympics.
"It was a tough personal experience on the court, but I'm not going to make any decision off emotions," Tatum said. "If you asked me right now if I was going to play in 2028 — it is four years from now and I [would have] to take time and think about that. So I'm not going to make any decision based off how this experience was or how I felt individually."
Tatum further elaborated on the experience and highlighted that it has been a learning curve for him.
"I think the tough part is yes, you can use things to fuel you, but I'm still human," Taum said.
"Part of being in the moment, I've sacrificed and put a lot into this game and work really, really hard. So in the moment it is tough. You're not necessarily worried about fueling me for November or [whenever] the season is, but like I said, it's something I'm going to take away from this and learn from this experience. It's definitely challenging and humbling at the same time."
Jayson Tatum did not play in both games against Serbia in the Olympic tournament. Team USA coach Steve Kerr explained his decision to not play the reigning NBA champion in those games was not based on performance but on matchups.