Inside The Warriors

Steve Kerr's Honest Statement on Benching Jayson Tatum in USA vs. Serbia

Golden State Warriors and USA Basketball head coach Steve Kerr benched Jayson Tatum
Joey Linn|
Dec 19, 2023; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr watches the game against the Boston Celtics during the first half at Chase Center.
Dec 19, 2023; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr watches the game against the Boston Celtics during the first half at Chase Center. | John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports

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USA Basketball defeated Serbia in their Paris Olympics opener on Sunday. After going 5-0 in their Showcase Games, Team USA opened Group Play with an impressive win over Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic and the rest of Serbia's roster.

With Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant returning from a minor calf injury, USA Basketball head coach Steve Kerr had a difficult rotation decision to make. Choosing to bench Jayson Tatum, Kerr did not play the Boston Celtics star a single second in this win over Serbia.

Some wondered if Tatum was dealing with an illness, but Kerr confirmed after the game he was a DNP-CD.

"I went with the combinations that made sense," Kerr told reporters. "That was for tonight. He handled it well. He’ll make his mark."

Tatum was not at the top of Kerr's rotation towards the end of the Showcase Games, playing just 14 minutes against Germany which was the final preparation game before Group Play. With Durant's return, it was reasonable to assume a forward could be cut entirely out of Kerr's rotation, and Tatum was that forward.

Durant was special in his return from injury, finishing with 23 points on 8/9 from the field.

As Kerr told reporters, Tatum will make his mark at some point in this run, as it seems the Golden State Warriors head coach could be adjusting his rotations from game to game.

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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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