Steve Kerr To Give Jayson Tatum 1 Player’s Minutes On Team USA

Jayson Tatum being benched for the opening Game of Team USA’s 2024 Olympic run caused something of a stir.

Despite the American side picking up an easy victory, many were shocked to see Tatum – the face of the NBA champion Boston Celtics – relegated to the pine.

It didn’t take long for the real reason for Steve Kerr’s decision to bench Tatum to emerge.

Nevertheless, despite Team USA enjoying a ton of success by not playing Tatum, Kerr promised he would participate in their outing against South Sudan on Wednesday.

“I felt like an idiot not playing him,” Kerr said afterward.

“Jayson will play (on Wednesday),” he continued. “I’m not gonna answer your next question, which is, ‘If he plays, who doesn’t?’ But we’re gonna need him, and part of this job for me is to keep everybody engaged and ready, because my experience with this is crazy stuff happens.”

Kerr doesn’t need to reveal whose minutes Tatum will get. Anyone who has watched Team USA play up to this point already knows the answer.

Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid will see his playing time significantly reduced. He has been terrible for the American side so far in 2024 and the team is substantially better when Anthony Davis plays in his place.

When Davis isn’t on the court, Bam Adebayo of the Miami Heat gives Team USA much better production as well. In fact, against Serbia, Embiid was the only American player with a negative plus-minus.

Tatum will definitely get some playing time on Wednesday, and it will almost certainly come at Embiid’s expense.

Jennifer Withers Hoey

Jennifer Withers Hoey is a former Business Development Manager who transitioned to writing about Sports. With valuable connections all over the West Coast, she has used those contacts to break some of the most interesting stories pertaining to the Portland Trail Blazers, Oregon Ducks, LA Lakers, LA Clippers, Seattle Supersonics (RIP), and more.