Team USA and Jayson Tatum appear on their way to another Olympic Gold Medal.

But Tatum’s summer in Paris is much more about mettle.

When they roll the credits after Team USA’s run in France, Tatum’s name will follow the “ALSO STARRING” header, after his Celtics teammates Jrue Holiday and Derrick White.

Holiday and White have developed roles with Team USA. Tatum is a fill-in. He’s just another cog in Steve Kerr’s rotation. Maybe a 5, maybe a 10?

That’s just what Tatum and the Celtics need.

Anything less than complete adulation and 20+ minutes a game offers Tatum unfiltered motivation for both next season and the LA Olympics. Come 2028, Tatum could well be the Alpha on the Team USA roster while going for a third gold.

Meanwhile, the Celtics are built for a golden age right now.

Tatum is not quite as great as he, and some others, think he is.

Not all the time.

Certainly not while he’s on the court with LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Steph Curry.

That is not disparagement, but rather a glimpse at Tatum’s unmet potential.

Dwyane Wade said as much during the telecast of Team USA’s 122-87 demolition of Brazil in the Olympic quarterfinals Wednesday.

“For Jayson Tatum (at the Olympics), it’s just about continuing to add to an early Hall-of-Fame career.”

Grunt work in Paris.

Glory in Boston.

Everything written about these Celtics always requires a disclaimer.

For Tatum, it is this:

“Tatum has his NBA championship. He made all your 2024 NBA Championship Celtics swag possible. He’s won as many rings as Paul Pierce. He has license to say or do anything he chooses, as long as it’s legal and within reason. At 26, Tatum has yet to reach his athletic peak. Jordan didn’t win his first title until he was 28. Let the Deuce have the run of the locker room, Brad Stevens’ luxury suite, and the team plane.”

Disclaimer done.

Now what, JT?

Jaylen Brown consistently delivered numbers and leadership during the postseason from Game 1 against the Heat through Game 5 against the Mavericks. Tatum was less-than-fully-dependable.

Tatum clearly wants to be “The Man.”

But not even NIKE can make that happen.

Such respect is never gifted via sponsorship or product placement.

In Paris, Tatum is playing alongside “The Man” for the second straight Olympics.

In 2024, love him or hate him, “The Man” is LeBron James.

This time, JT must be paying attention. A no-look feed from James to Tatum closed the first half Wednesday, as Tatum got himself an Olympic poster over some hapless Brazilian schlub to make it 63-36.

We’re on to Serbia.

Speaking of disclaimers, James is a flopping, unrepentant apologist for Communist China who has taken too many knees during the national anthem. He’s an all-time sports villain for three different teams against the Celtics.

Worse than all of that, he’s part of the Red Sox ownership group.

There even remains a chance – albeit tiny – that he could someday own a piece of Celtics.

Stephen King never wrote such sinister prose.

James. 39, is also an other-worldly athlete, competitor, and champion. He’s a 20-time NBA All-Star, 4-time NBA champion (with three teams) and 4-time NBA Finals MVP. And he waved Stars and Stripes for Team USA on the River Seine.

Even though he never went to college, James owns a doctorate in “load management.” As he should. James logged 21 full seasons and 1,492 regular-season games in the NBA record books. He’s played another 287 games (or 3+ seasons) in the playoffs.

That’s nearly a quarter-century of NBA basketball.

What matters through Saturday’s gold medal game is that Tatum is playing with James.

L’École de Basket est ouverte à Paris.

Our Padawan appears to be paying attention to his Jedi master.

“It’s been really cool to see his energy level,” Tatum told the assembled media in Paris when asked about being teammates with James. “Right? Being a guy that’s been doing this for so long. He truly does come into every practice, every game, every single day, with a certain level of excitement. His energy is always through the roof. He’s always talking on and off the court, a very personable guy. A lot of times I go in the weight room in the morning, and he’s already in there. So, it’s just cool to see somebody that has accomplished, obviously, everything he can in this game, still have the joy and passion for it at this stage in his career.”

The line about seeing James lifting weights in the morning harkens to the Redeem Team in 2008. The Netflix documentary of the same name, produced in part by James and Wade, shares a story of Team USA players returning after a night of partying at Club Tryst in Las Vegas. Only to meet Kobe Bryant on his way to the gym at 5:30 a.m.

“We asked ‘Where you going, bro?’ He said ‘I’m going to the gym’. As we’re going in the elevator up to our rooms, we’re like ‘Did you hear that? We’re all talking like this guy’s really dedicated. Next thing you know, it goes from just Kobe at 5:30 in the morning to LeBron James and Dwayne Wade and by the end of the week, the whole team was getting up every morning and we’re on Kobe’s schedule,” Carlos Boozer said.

Tatum built an adoration of Kobe into his NBA persona.

Maybe, some day, Tatum will be the Team USA Olympic Black Mamba, drenched in sweat headed to the gym in the early hours while his teammates come in from a late night at the club.

But only after he’s added a couple of banners to the rafters at TD Garden.

99.9% pure gold mettle.

It’s all Tatum needs.

Bill Speros (@RealOBF and @BIllSperos on X) can be reached at bsperos1@gmail.com.