The United States men’s national basketball team took home the gold medal at the Olympics in Paris, but it didn’t come without some drama. Team USA head coach Steve Kerr came under fire for benching Boston Celtics star forward Jayson Tatum not once but twice in two different games.
Both instances came as the Americans faced off against Serbia, with Kerr feeling the heat for his controversial decision. Many have lashed out at Kerr, even with Team USA winning the gold, for how he handled one of the better players in the entire NBA.
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Tatum’s mom and former Celtics players all bashed Kerr for his decision-making. Luckily for the Golden State Warriors head coach, the Americans were able to win the gold; otherwise, this would have been an even larger story.
Former NBA star Carmelo Anthony weighed in on the benching of Tatum. He credited the Celtics star for having the resilience to accept the benching.
“This is the side of basketball I love to talk about, he got one of the greatest resumes in the last 5 years. What he went through I want everybody to see that, the whole world knew he was pissed but he was resilient.”
However, Anthony was critical of how the entire situation was handled.
“I don’t agree with how they went about it…when you look at time in a game, you got 40 minutes in the game, ain’t 48, you know you’re five. I’m cool with you saying, ‘he’s not gonna play’, just be honest, this is where we have a lack of communication because we’ve been in Vegas this whole time. Talk to me, you already know where you see me at on this depth chart. Talk to me in private, let me get myself together, mentally and emotionally.”
“I don’t agree with how they went about it.”
Melo reveals his frustrations with how Jayson Tatum’s playing time was handled at the Olympics pic.twitter.com/pL0hsLWrQg
— 7PM in Brooklyn (@7PMinBrooklyn) August 17, 2024
The five-time All-Star was coming off a title win with the Celtics, so benching him was an interesting choice from Kerr. Managing the minutes and rotations of all the talent that Team USA typically has can be challenging, but Kerr didn’t handle it as well as he could have.
Ultimately, Tatum put together a strong few months, winning a title and gold medal. He can use this benching as motivation for next season, showing everyone that he deserved more playing time while with Team USA this summer.
More news: Celtics Legend Calls it ‘Great’ Jayson Tatum Didn’t Play a Lot for Team USA