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Olympics 2024: Will Team USA’s Jayson Tatum Play Against South Sudan?
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Get to know Dan Girolamo betterPublished29 Jul 2024
The United States men’s national basketball team opened Olympic play with a 110-84 victory over Serbia. However, one of the biggest stories was coach Steve Kerr’s decision to bench Jayson Tatum. Will the Celtics star play in the team’s next game against South Sudan?
Will Jayson Tatum Play For Team USA?
"Jayson will play [Wednesday]. I'm not going to answer your next question, which is if he plays, who doesn't." 👀
Steve Kerr vowed to play Jayson Tatum against South Sudan and explained why he didn't see the floor against Serbia👇 https://t.co/1zK5cY5VEj
— ESPN (@espn) July 29, 2024
Kerr ended all speculation on Monday, telling reporters that Tatum will be in the lineup in Team USA’s game against South Sudan.
“Jayson will play [Wednesday],” Kerr said via ESPN. “I’m not going to answer your next question, which is if he plays, who doesn’t. But we’re going to need him, and part of this job for me is to keep everybody engaged and ready, because my experience with this is crazy stuff happens.”
After the game, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst caught up with Kerr and asked about his decision to bench Tatum for the Serbia game.
Kerr explained how he spoke with Tatum before the game, explaining that Kevin Durant’s return would affect his minutes.
“[Jayson Tatum] handled it well. I talked to him today before the game, that it may play out this way just with Kevin [Durant] coming back,” Kerr told Windhorst. “I felt like an idiot not playing him.”
Kerr elected to go with a bigger interior lineup and a more guard-heavy rotation up top. However, leaving a three-time First-Team All-NBA player who just led his team to the championship out of the rotation is a head-scratching decision by Kerr.
LeBron James, Kevin Durant Shine In Win Over Serbia
The people have spoken. 🗣️
LeBron James and Kevin Durant dominate in Game 1 of the #ParisOlympics. pic.twitter.com/Ud73qHxQW2
— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) July 28, 2024
Team USA relied on two hall-of-fame veterans — LeBron James and Kevin Durant — in their opening-round victory over Serbia.
James has the keys to Team USA’s offense, finishing the game with 21 points, nine assists, and seven rebounds.
Durant excelled in his first game since returning from a calf injury. Durant came off the bench and could not miss, making his first eight shots, including five 3-pointers, in a 23-point performance to lead Team USA.
James and Durant combined to make their first 14 shots, seven from 3-point range, for 35 points.
Team USA’s next game comes against South Sudan on July 31 at 3 p.m. ET.
