The 2024 Paris Olympics have been over for over a month but the events in the men's basketball tournament get debated on to this day. This primarily refers to people angry about Jayson Tatum playing a minuscule role on the team. Coach Steve Kerr was asked about players like Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton not playing much by Steve Aschburner of NBA.com, promoting Kerr to praise both players' professionalism.
"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. Tyrese, 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."
Team USA won a dominant Gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics which everyone widely considered to be one of the deepest Olympics in terms of non-USA competition. They had to fight their way to multiple wins in the tournament, including their last two wins over Serbia and France to secure the Gold medal.
Haliburton not playing made sense given his age and experience, also because LeBron James was virtually playing point guard alongside guards like Stephen Curry and Jrue Holiday. The presence of those three players to perform different guard roles means Tyrese couldn't get a look in.
Tatum, on the other hand, was deliberately benched for other options like LeBron, Kevin Durant, and even Derrick White for on-ball defense and to have defense-first role-players next to the old duo of James and Durant on the court.
Both players will have an opportunity to be featured stars on the 2028 Olympics squad, provided they get a call-up and an opportunity instead of being left up to the whims and fancies of a coach.
The Olympics Were A 'Rough Personal Experience' For Jayson Tatum
Jayson Tatum has had his fair share of complaints about what went down at the 2024 Paris Olympics on Team USA, failing to hide his dislike for the decision to barely use him. He would reflect on the Paris Olympics in a negative light, calling it a rough personal experience.
"It was a tough personal experience on the court, but I'm not going to make any decision on emotions. 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. So I'm not going to make any decision based on how this experience was or how I felt individually."
"A lot of people text me and reached out and said 'Make sure this fuels you,' which I appreciate. There's a lot of people that care about me. I think the tough part is yes, you can use things to fuel you, but I'm still human."
Tatum averaged 26.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 4.9 assists last season. The reigning NBA Champion and Gold Medal winner will hope to silence his doubters once and for all in the 2024-25 season.
