Jayson Tatum's mom retweets explosive criticism of Steve Kerr after NBA champ gets benched again
Amid a very close game between Team USA and Serbia, Jayson Tatum made the headlines again after he didn't see the floor for a single second. The 2024 NBA champion, along with Tyrese Haliburton, watched his team struggle to beat Serbia.
With less than two minutes on the clock, Steph Curry gave Serbia the lead they never lost, finishing the game with a 95-91 win.
While the game was still ongoing, Tatum's mother retweeted a post criticizing Steve Kerr for not using the player amid all the struggles Team USA experienced in the first three quarters of the Serbia duel.
"If Kerr is watching this and willingly deciding 'Yeah, Jayson Tatum couldn't help here' then he legitimately cannot coach in 2028," X account @stoolgreenie wrote.
Tatum's mother retweeted this message, seemingly agreeing with the criticism towards Kerr.
After not playing Tatum for a single minute in the first game of the tournament, Steve Kerr explained that he felt bad for not putting the player on the floor. Still, the Boston Celtics star didn't get as much playing time as others, including teammates Derrick White and Jrue Holiday.
The game against Serbia was another DNP for Tatum, who rode the bench with Haliburton while Serbia looked well on its way to winning the game.
Kenyon Martin has strong message to Steve Kerr over Jayson Tatum's lack of action
Jayson Tatum's mother wasn't the only one criticizing Steve Kerr. Others have been very vocal about the Golden State Warriors head coach's decisions regarding Tatum.
In an appearance on Gilbert Arenas' podcast Gil's Arena, Kenyon Martin Sr. didn't mince words when discussing this situation. He said Kerr should be institutionalized if he announced Tatum wasn't going to be part of the rotation before the Olympics.
“If Jayson Tatum were ever on your roster, would there ever be a situation where he had a DNP? What the f**k makes you start now? This man is 1st Team All-NBA three years in a row,” Martin said.
“If it was announced that Jayson Tatum might not play, they should have had (Kerr) f*****g admitted to a psych ward. No, we're just going to put somebody in. Steve, you know what? We're going to send you back home, man. You're not well,” Martin added.
Tatum played 17 minutes against South Sudan, 23 against Puerto Rico and 20 against Brazil. He's averaging 6.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. Team USA has managed to survive without him, even against Serbia, but one can't help but wonder if he would've made a bigger and earlier difference for Team USA in the Olympic semis.