One of the largest storylines from Team USA men’s basketball team winning the gold medal at the 2024 Olympics, was the benching of Boston Celtics star forward Jayson Tatum. Team USA head coach Steve Kerr kept Tatum from playing in two games, both coming against Serbia.
This sparked all sorts of criticism coming toward Kerr, including from former Celtics players and Tatum’s mom. While finding minutes for all the talent on the Team USA roster is a challenge, benching a player in Tatum, who many believe is a top-five player in the NBA, was controversial.
Read more: Celtics Hall of Famer Annihilates Steve Kerr for Team USA Jayson Tatum Benching
After the first benching, Kerr said that he felt like an idiot. But he proceeded to do the same thing in the semi-finals despite Team USA trailing for the majority of the game.
PARIS, FRANCE – AUGUST 10: Jayson Tatum #10 of Team United States dunks the ball during the Men’s Gold Medal game between Team France and Team United States on day fifteen of the Olympic Games…
PARIS, FRANCE – AUGUST 10: Jayson Tatum #10 of Team United States dunks the ball during the Men’s Gold Medal game between Team France and Team United States on day fifteen of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Bercy Arena on August 10, 2024 in Paris, France. Tatum was benched in separate occasions while with Team USA this summer.
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Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
While many have called out Kerr, Celtics legend Kevin Garnett offered a different take on Tatum being on the bench for multiple games. He believes that it may actually benefit the five-time All-Star.
“It was great that he didn’t have to play a lot of minutes, man,” said Garnett. “He’s coming off of the Finals. … I’m glad they didn’t need Jayson Tatum. I’m glad he got to actually rest and chill. … When you win, you get a shortened season, while every body else gets four, five months off. You probably get what, two, two and a half? And then it’s right back in the lab. He had to turn around win the NBA championship. Turn around, what two, two and a half weeks, three weeks, start preparing for USA, and then had to show up to training camp for that. I can only imagine how difficult that was for him.”
Tatum only played 11 minutes in the gold medal game against France and averaged just 17.7 minutes a game. He only appeared in four of Team USA’s six official Olympic matchups.
The Celtics coming off a championship run gave Tatum only a small amount of time to get ready for the Olympics. Same with fellow Team USA teammates Derrick White and Jrue Holiday. Tatum got some extra rest from what would have been a very long summer.
The benching of Tatum could provide motivation for the All-Star heading into next season as Boston goes for back-to-back titles. He knows that he is better than the amount of minutes he received while with Team USA and could use that to his advantage to prove everyone wrong.
More news: Charles Barkley Calls Out Steve Kerr for Mishandling Jayson Tatum at Olympics
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Publish date : 2024-08-16 10:11:00
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