Inside The Warriors

Ex-Celtics Player Rips Steve Kerr For Benching Jayson Tatum at Olympics

This former Boston Celtics player claims Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr stepped down before Team USA could fire him.
Joey Linn|
Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) reacts after a play against the Dallas Mavericks during the second quarter during game three of the 2024 NBA Finals at American Airlines Center.
Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) reacts after a play against the Dallas Mavericks during the second quarter during game three of the 2024 NBA Finals at American Airlines Center. | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

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Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr benching Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum at the 2024 Paris Olympics was a major story. Despite Team USA winning a gold medal, Kerr has faced a lot of criticism for this decision.

Tatum himself handled the situation well, saying after the Olympics via Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe, “You feel like you deserve to play and the competitor in you wants to play. And (Steve Kerr) is the coach for a reason. He makes those decisions."

While the 2024 NBA champion has not complained, many others have taken issue with Kerr’s handling of his role. During a recent episode of the Club 520 podcast, former Celtics guard Evan Turner ripped Steve Kerr.

“I felt like he was targeted, bro,” Turner said of Tatum. “There’s something deeper going on. I felt like it was something deeper than just rotations… Like, give me 11 minutes.”

Amid the reports that Kerr will not continue as USA Basketball’s head coach, Turner claimed he quit before he could get fired.

“Steve quit before they fired him,” Turner said. “This was his last Olympics.”

Some have argued USA Basketball needed to move on from Kerr in order to get Tatum’s commitment for 2028, but the Celtics star did not indicate that was the case.

“It was a tough personal experience on the court, but I’m not going to make any decisions off emotions,” Tatum said after the Olympics via Himmelsbach. “If you asked me right now if I’m going to play in 2028, it’s four years from now. I’d have to take time and think about that. So I’m not going to make any decision based on how this experience was, or how I feel individually. I keep trying to say, I’m trying not to make it about me. I know that’s the storyline the last few days, but we won. We won a gold medal, and that was most important.”

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Joey Linn
JOEY LINN

Joey Linn is a credentialed writer covering the NBA and WNBA for On SI. Covering the LA Clippers independently in 2018, then for Fansided and 213Hoops from 2019-2021, Joey joined On SI to cover the Clippers after the 2020-21 season. Graduating from Biola University in 2022 with a Communication Studies degree, Joey served as Biola's play-by-play announcer for their basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. Joey's work on Biola's broadcasts and in the classroom earned him the Outstanding Communication Studies Student of the year award in 2022. Joey covers the NBA full-time, primarily serving as a Clippers beat writer.

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