Even though Team USA features nothing but the creme of the crop in the NBA, there are still levels to everything.
More than that, every single player has to embrace a different role when they play for Team USA, knowing that they might not get to be ‘the man’ like they are on their teams.
Notably, that was the case with Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum in his Olympic debut vs. Serbia.
The star forward was a healthy scratch in the first game, even with the Americans up by double digits for most of it.
Some people even thought that Tatum may have been dealing with an undisclosed injury, as it was otherwise tough to explain.
When asked about that, coach Steve Kerr claimed that it was actually a part of the plan all along (Via ClutchPoints).
Apparently, he talked to Tatum to let him know that he might not be able to play that game because of Kevin Durant’s return.
He admitted that it didn’t feel good to leave him all the bench, but added that Tatum handled it pretty well.
“[Jayson Tatum] handled it well. I talked to him today before the game, that it may play out this way just with Kevin [Durant] coming back… I felt like an idiot not playing him… [In] a 40-minute game, you can't play more than 10."
— Steve Kerr
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— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) July 28, 2024
Kerr claimed that he went with the combinations that made the most sense and that it was just a matter of matchups, adding that you can only play ten guys in a 40-minute game.
Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton was also a healthy scratch, with Stephen Curry and Derrick White serving as point guards, and that’s just the way things go when you play with the best of the best sometimes.
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