Ex Celtics assistant makes mockery of Jayson Tatum's DNP vs Serbia over star's fresh cut for Olympics
Jayson Tatum watched from the bench as Team USA overwhelmed Serbia on Sunday 110-84 to start their 2024 Olympic campaign. Kevin Durant and LeBron James had stunning performances but it was also shocking to see Tatum fail to see a minute of action. The Boston Celtics superstar confirmed after the game that he wasn’t injured.
Tatum arrived late in training camp for personal reasons and struggled a bit in Team USA’s five exhibition games, two as a starter. He averaged 6.4 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game. The All-NBA forward, however, is coming off a championship so keeping him on the bench even when the Americans had a big lead confused many.
Evan Turner, a former Celtics coach, reacted to Jayson Tatum’s benching:
“I wish I would cut my hair for the Olympics and you don't play me”
The reference to Tatum’s hair is obvious. “JT” surprised Team USA teammates when he showed up for training camp with a new hairstyle. Even Jaylen Brown, his Celtics co-superstar, took a hilarious dig at Tatum’s retro look.
Evan Turner’s jest about the hair did not hide his disappointment in Steve Kerr for not playing Jayson Tatum. Kerr, in an interview with ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, gave his reason for the controversial move:
"Jayson is first-team All-NBA three years in a row, he's one of the best players in the world. So I went with the combinations that I felt like would make sense and talked to him, and he's incredibly professional, and that's tonight. That doesn't mean it's going to stay that way the rest of the tournament, so he'll make his mark.”
Kevin Durant had a superb outing against Serbia, going 8-for-8 in the first half, including five 3-pointers. KD dealt with a calf strain in the lead-up to the Olympics. He, however, had a dream start, giving the Americans a big boost to help turn an early 10-2 deficit against the Nikola Jokic-led team.
Had Durant struggled, Steve Kerr would have likely given Jayson Tatum minutes.
Former NBA player Tim Legler called Jayson Tatum’s benching “incredibly disrespectful”
Tim Legler, who has called the criticisms against Jayson Tatum unfair, commented about the Boston Celtics star’s benching. He had this to say on the All-NBA podcast:
“I totally disagree with what happened to him today. I thought it was incredibly disrespectful. Jayson Tatum’s got a hell of a resume. He has a much better resume than guys on that team that were playing a lot of minutes.”
Legler added that Tatum’s Celtics teammates Jrue Holiday and Derrick White “played 40 minutes” between themselves but found it unbelievable Steve Kerr couldn’t insert Tatum.
Kerr said after the game in the interview with Brian Windhorst that “Tatum is the ultimate pro” who will be “ready for the next one.”
Team USA’s next game will be against South Sudan on Aug. 1. Many will be watching if Tatum finally makes his first appearance in the 2024 Paris Olympics.