Celtics champion Jayson Tatum warmed the bench for the entire game of Team USA’s 110-84 win over Serbia and many people are wondering why.
Jrue Holiday starred, while Derrick White played for over 15 minutes in the contest, despite being a late call-up to replace Kawhi Leonard.
NBA media questioned whether Tatum didn’t play due to an illness or injury, but but he said otherwise after the game, The Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn reported.
Washburn tweeted, “Just asked Jayson Tatum if he was sick, he told me, “No, I’m good.”
Team USA coach Steve Kerr confirmed after the win that Tatum wasn’t benched due to illness / injury and Kerr maintained that he went to the combinations that made the most sense.
“Jayson’s gonna play; every game’s gonna be different based on matchups,” Kerr told ESPN. “He’s a total pro, he’s first-team All-NBA three years in a row. I felt like an idiot not playing him, but you know, 40-minute game, you can’t play more than 10 [players].
“With Kevin [Durant] coming back, I just went to the combinations that I felt made the most sense. It seems crazy. I thought I was crazy when I looked at everything and determined these are the lineups I wanted to get to.
“[Tatum will] make his mark. Our guys know the key to this whole thing is to put all the NBA stuff in the rearview mirror and just win six games. Jayson is the ultimate pro and champion and he handled it well, and he’s going to be ready for the next game.”
Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton was the only other USA player that didn’t log any minutes.
NBA Twitter was quick to notice.
Tatum and Hali highlights today 🔥 pic.twitter.com/6XrV7TYnXh
— BricksCenter (@BricksCenter) July 28, 2024
Team USA’s next pool game will be against South Sudan on July 31 – the country that came the closest to beating USA in the warm up games.