Steve Kerr electing to bench Jayson Tatum throughout Team USA’s gold medal run at the 2024 Paris Olympics drew a lot of criticism. But the Boston Celtics forward was lauded for how he handled the pair of games he didn’t play in.
In a Q&A with NBA.com’s Steve Aschburner, Kerr opened up about how Tatum dealt with being on the bench.
“Those guys were all great. Jayson handled things so well. Then obviously it became a media subject, but he couldn’t have handled it better,” Kerr said. “Tyrese (Haliburton), same thing. Every game was different. And we talked about that from the first night — 12 superstars and probably only nine can play consistent minutes. They handled themselves really professionally and pulled for each other. I couldn’t be prouder of them all.”
Even when Tatum was on the floor, his numbers didn’t pop off the page. The five-time All-Star averaged 5.3 points, 1.3 rebounds and one assist in 17.7 minutes per game despite being a crucial part to Team USA’s 2020 team — where he was the second-leading scorer — and had regular playing time in the exhibition games leading up to this year’s Olympics.
Kerr chalked up Tatum’s benching to the coach just simply going with the combination that “made the most sense” for the team.
Tatum, who helped lead the Celtics to an NBA title this summer, admitted that being benched was a “tough personal experience,” but he wasn’t going to make a decision on the 2028 Olympics based on how he was feeling in that moment.
“If you asked me right now if I was going to play in 2028, it is four years from now and I (would have) to take time and think about that,” he told reporters in Paris. ”So I’m not going to make any decision based off how this experience was or how I felt individually.”
Kerr reportedly won’t be the coach of Team USA in 2028.
