"He's got same rating as LeBron & Steph" - Ronnie 2k backs Stephen A. Smith's claim of Steve Kerr screwing Jayson Tatum in Olympics
While it is a big accomplishment, Jayson Tatum winning a gold medal with Team USA in the Paris Olympics wasn't without controversy. Tatum barely saw any action as head coach Steve Kerr benched him and even went as far as not subbing him in during certain games.
While the Olympics had already concluded about a month ago, this controversy seems to still be fresh in some people's minds. Stephen A. Smith himself appears to still be worked up over it and he shared that with Ronnie 2K when the latter joined him on the "Stephen A. Smith Show."
Stephen A. went on a passionate tirade, berating Kerr for his decision to bench Tatum in the Olympics. A tirade that Ronnie 2K agreed with easily.
"Unbelievable," Ronnie 2k said, agreeing with Stephen A. "The guy just won a championship, you know he's ready to play for his country. He could have just taken the summer off."
Ronnie 2k named several activities Tatum could have done during the summer instead of joining Team USA. He expressed his disappointment in the situation and his sympathy for Tatum, saying that he felt for the Celtics star.
He later added that it stung even more considering that Tatum has a similar 2k25 rating to two veteran players on the Olympic squad who saw plenty of minutes.
"We kind of put the cherry on top because he's got the same rating as LeBron [James] and Steph [Curry]," Ronnie 2k added.
LeBron James, Steph Curry and Jayson Tatum are all 95 overall in the NBA 2K25.
Jayson Tatum played a bigger role in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics
Jayson Tatum is a two-time Olympic gold medalist after the Paris Olympics. The first time he got a gold medal in the Olympics was in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics as part of an almost completely different roster from the latest squad.
Gregg Popovich coached the team, with Steve Kerr serving as one of the assistants. Kevin Durant, Jrue Holiday and Devin Booker were also on the 2020 squad along with Tatum.
Tatum played in all six games under Popovich, averaging 20.5 minutes per game. He averaged 15.2 points per game, shooting 49.3% from the field and 44.7% from outside. He had the second-highest scoring average on the team, trailing only Kevin Durant (20.7 points per game).
Tatum's 2024 Olympics stats trended in the opposite direction from his 2020 performance due to his limited playing time. He only saw action in three of the five games, with both of his DNPs coming against Serbia. In those three games, he averaged 5.3 points and 5.3 rebounds.
However, it wasn't just Tatum who went through games without seeing any action. Joel Embiid, Tyrese Haliburton and Jrue Holiday also went through games without leaving the bench.