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Steve Kerr Explains Why Jayson Tatum Was Benched for Team USA Win vs. Serbia
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On Sunday, Team USA steamrolled Serbia, 110-84, to kick off another run at an Olympic gold medal. As expected. What wasn't as expected was the complete absence of Jayson Tatum; the All-NBA forward didn't see the floor at any point during the 26-point win.
Some theorized Tatum was dealing with an injury or illness, but the Boston Celtics superstar said afterwards that he was totally healthy. Which means his DNP was 100% Steve Kerr's call.
Shortly after the game, Kerr explained to reporters why Tatum was benched for the Team USA opener. In essence, Kerr wanted to get Kevin Durant back into the flow of things after he missed every exhibition game with a calf injury. He also said he "went with combinations that make sense," and that left no minutes for Tatum. However, Kerr was quick to note that Tatum will "make his mark" as the Games go on.
Kerr admits Tatum was a straight up DNP-CD. “I went with the combinations that made sense. That was for tonight. He handled it well. He’ll make his mark.” #Celtics #Paris2024
— gary washburn (@GwashburnGlobe) July 28, 2024
Steve Kerr says Jayson Tatum sat mostly because of getting KD into the mix.
— Adam Himmelsbach (@AdamHimmelsbach) July 28, 2024
But said there will be opportunities.
“He’ll make his mark.”
Kerr does not have an easy job sorting out which extremely talented players should play with a fairly small margin for error given the outsized expectations surrounding Team USA basketball. And given how well Durant played right from the gun, it may be as simple as Kerr deciding to ride the hot hand. Team USA's comfortable victory takes a lot of the focus off the decision anyhow.
It's still an interesting coaching decision and one to keep an eye on as the Games go forward.
Liam McKeone is a senior writer for the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has been in the industry as a content creator since 2017, and prior to joining SI in May 2024, McKeone worked for NBC Sports Boston and The Big Lead. In addition to his work as a writer, he has hosted the Press Pass Podcast covering sports media and The Big Stream covering pop culture. A graduate of Fordham University, he is always up for a good debate and enjoys loudly arguing about sports, rap music, books and video games. McKeone has been a member of the National Sports Media Association since 2020.
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