During their first game of the 2024 Paris Olympics, Team USA head coach Steve Kerr decided to leave Boston Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum on the bench while the squad took on Serbia.
Ultimately, the move didn’t make much of a difference in terms of changing the outcome of the game, as the Americans made easy work of Nikola Jokic and company to begin their quest for the gold medal.
After the game, even though Team USA crushed Serbia, criticism was directed and Kerr and his coaching staff for making the controversial decision to bench a reigning NBA champion.
Not only was Tatum’s benching a hot topic of discussion in league circles over the past few days, but it also took a bit of a toll on the young forward, as he admitted he was humbled by being forced to watch from the bench, via Basket News.
“It’s definitely a humbling experience,” Tatum said.
Jayson Tatum on not playing against Serbia:
“It’s definitely a humbling experience.” 🗣️ #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/wfuLZxMjJe
— BasketNews (@BasketNews_com) July 31, 2024
Fortunately for Tatum, the benching was not something that carried over to the next game, as he was actually in the starting lineup against South Sudan, which was a move by Kerr that no one saw coming.
However, this seems to be something that Kerr will do throughout the tournament to keep his players fresh. For example, Joel Embiid was benched against South Sudan, but it didn’t matter as the Americans won a second straight game with relative ease.
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