After Team USA’s opening game at the Olympics, Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum was once again benched during their recent game against Serbia. This prompted Carmelo Anthony and Sue Bird to share their thoughts on the matter.
Tatum was once again kept on the bench by Team USA coach Steve Kerr during their thrilling 95-91 semifinal comeback win over Serbia at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Tatum has now logged two Olympic DNPs under Kerr’s leadership.
Serbia was lighting it up from three-point range, leading by as much as 13 points in the second half. However, Kerr continued to play rotations that did not include the versatile 6’10” Tatum, who could have provided valuable perimeter defense. Even Draymond Green, Kerr’s own player with the Golden State Warriors, questioned the coach’s rotation decisions.
Team USA ultimately rallied in the fourth quarter, led by superhuman performances from Steph Curry, Joel Embiid, and LeBron James, to secure the win and a spot in the gold medal game. But the comeback was more about the team’s immense talent than Kerr’s coaching.
It’s been a strange Olympics for the three Boston Celtics on Team USA, with Tatum and Jrue Holiday having to navigate the controversy around Jaylen Brown’s absence. Tatum has struggled to find his role, but his continued benching, especially in a high-stakes game, has left many, including his mother, questioning Kerr’s decisions.
Carmelo Anthony and Sue Bird Share Their Thoughts on Team USA Benching Jayson Tatum at the Olympics
After Team USA’s game against Serbia, various personalities gave their take on Tatum’s benching. Among those who spoke out were Anthony and WNBA legend Sue Bird in an episode of 7PM in Brooklyn, a Wave Sports + Entertainment Original.
SUE: “I can relate to that. I think the big difference is he went from being an important piece in Tokyo to then now kind of getting caught on the depth chart…You look around and you are top in the NBA/WNBA whatever it is, but all of a sudden you look on the depth chart, you’re fourth in your position in a blink on USA basketball.
So that can happen to anybody. That has nothing to do with who’s better, who’s worse. It has nothing to do. It’s kind of just like the way it goes. But I think what would be hard for Jayson is going from being a major contributor in Tokyo to then not playing in the first game.
MELO: “Even coming off a championship, like this momentum is different…I’m sure he’s thinking that like, ‘damn, I just won a championship. I just did what I had to do to deal what people say I couldn’t do, I’m showing I’m here with everyone else.’ I’m sure as a player he’s thinking that, but that USA shit is different.
It is totally different. To your point, every game changes. It’s like you have a game plan until you get punched in the face and then I’m going with what I’m comfortable with at this moment.
So it’s a part of Jayson that he got to understand this is bigger than what’s happening. You’re going to play. I think he’s going to play…That’s one thing I’ll say about Coach K. We never would of had none of this with Coach K, because it was established from the beginning.
Coach K established everybody’s role…There’s a lot of people that have gone through it. Paul George went through it, Draymond Green went through it. There’s a lot of players. Jimmy Butler went through it. I was just thinking DeMarcus Cousins went through it when he was arguably the best center in the game, right?”
Both basketball stars have established themselves as premier players on the global stage. Anthony, a four-time Olympian, became the USA’s men’s basketball all-time leading scorer at one point and rebounder, while Bird is the all-time leader in Olympic assists.
Despite rocky starts, they both went on to cement their legacies as dominant players in the international scene. Hopefully, Tatum goes down the same path and transforms himself to become a dominant force in the Olympics when the time comes.
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