In the first official game of the 2024 Olympics in Paris, France, for Team USA, LeBron James and company made easy work of Serbia, led by Denver Nuggets superstar and three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic.
Although the Americans dispatched the Serbians relatively easily, the win didn’t come without some controversy, as head coach Steve Kerr was able to get superstar forward Kevin Durant of the Phoenix Suns back on the floor but also benched reigning NBA champion Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics in the process.
Even though Team USA beat Serbia without a close call, the one thing that has been dominating the headlines is the fact that Tatum didn’t log a single minute and that even his Celtics teammate Derrick White got time on the basketball floor on Sunday.
In the aftermath of Kerr’s decision, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst claims that it was a basketball decision, and Tatum didn’t fit in the 10-man rotation via NBA on ESPN.
“They made the evaluation that in a 10-man rotation, in a 40-minute game, [Jayson] Tatum didn’t fit,” Windhorst said.
"They made the evaluation that in a 10-man rotation, in a 40-minute game, [Jayson] Tatum didn't fit."@WindhorstESPN explains why Steve Kerr chose not to play Jayson Tatum vs. Serbia
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— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) July 29, 2024
It’ll be interesting to see if Kerr shakes things up in the next game when Team USA goes up against South Sudan, who gave the Americans all they could handle during their exhibition game recently, which came down to the last second.
Obviously, it is not easy for Kerr to decide who plays and who sits with so many star players on the roster, so there’s bound to be one or two players who don’t get their fair shake, even though they are among the elite class in the NBA.
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