Ex NBA champion slams Team USA's roster selection: "They would send a player like Josh Hart before Herro or Monk"
Former NBA player Nick Young, who won a championship with Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors in 2018, blasted the Team USA selection committee on Tuesday. Young slammed the decision-makers for prioritizing defensive minded players over certified scorers in the roster.
The former guard voiced his displeasure after Steph Curry and Co. were involved in multiple hard-fought nerve-racking games en route winning its 17th Olympic gold medal.
The ex-Washington Wizards player also used the example of three young NBA players while making his point.
"The NBA would send a player like Josh Hart who role on a team is to play defense b4 a player like Tyler hero or a Monk who role on they team is to get buckets to the Olympics but play against them same type of bucket getters like Bogdanovic or Schröder we wouldn’t invite And they given us work, and we barely beaten them," Young wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter).
The 12-member Team USA roster for the 2024 Paris Olympics featured multiple players who are elite on the defensive end apart from their contributions on offense.
Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, Anthony Davis and Bam Adebayo are among the best defenders in the world.
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In terms of Team USA eking out wins by a narrow margin, coach Steve Kerr's group was put under extreme pressure in the semifinal and final.
In the semifinal with Serbia, Steph Curry and Co. trailed by double-digits entering the fourth quarter before registering 95-91 win. Meanwhile, in the final against France, Team USA required a sensational fourth-quarter shooting burst from Steph Curry to win 98-87.
Nick Young criticizes Team USA coach for underutilizing Jayson Tatum
In a separate tweet, Nick Young also spoke about coach Steve Kerr's underutilization of Jayson Tatum during the Summer Games.
The former guard also hit out at the selection committee for including Derrick White as Kawhi Leonard's injury instead of NBA Finals MVP Jaylen Brown.
"So instead of ppl saying Kerr was tripping they rather bash Tatum and and ant man my favorite but dnt move the goalpost for him and others players and make Tatum the fall guy….. then push this weak ass narrative like Tatum and Brown both elites, one all NBA & the other finals mvp gotta take the backseat to a defensive player and that they basically dnt fit on the team .. coach K wasn’t playing T prince over melo or iggy over kd thats coaching," Young said.
Talking about Tatum, the Boston Celtics superstar received two DNPs in the Paris Games.