Why Celtics-Warriors is most compelling date on Boston’s 2024-25 schedule

Steve Kerr pulled off a rare feat last week in Paris.

He led the United States to its fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal while simultaneously becoming public enemy No. 1 in the eyes of one of the NBA’s most prominent and passionate fanbases.

And those fans won’t need to wait long to let him hear about it.

The Celtics’ 10th game of the 2024-25 season — Wednesday, Nov. 6, 7:30 p.m. ET, TD Garden — is against Kerr’s Golden State Warriors. It’s one of the most anticipated dates on Boston’s schedule, which was announced Thursday, and it occurs early enough that the sting of Jayson Tatum’s Olympic embarrassment will still be fresh in the superstar’s mind.

You probably know the story by now: Tatum, fresh off his third straight first-team All-NBA selection and first NBA championship, was relegated to supporting character status on Team USA. He was a “Did Not Play – Coach’s Decision” in two of the six games and finished the tournament ranked 11th out of 12 Americans in minutes played, ahead of only happy-to-be-there Tyrese Haliburton. He scored 21 total points, only cracking double digits once (10 points vs. Puerto Rico).

It was a markedly different role than the one Tatum played at his first Olympics three years earlier, when he averaged 15.2 points per game and was the team’s second-leading scorer behind Kevin Durant. After Kerr glued him to the bench in the semifinals against Serbia — a game the U.S. trailed by 17 points before rallying late to win — the coach faced widespread criticism from all corners of the basketball world, including several current and former NBA stars. Tatum’s mother expressed her befuddlement on social media. Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck called it “mystifying.”

On some level, Tatum’s limited usage made sense. His shot has been off since Boston’s playoff run, and this U.S. roster was stacked. Four of its best players in the medal rounds — LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Joel Embiid and Anthony Davis — weren’t on the team in Tokyo 2020. Kerr leaned on his old guard of Curry, James and Durant in key moments, and all three delivered, combining for 114 points between the semifinal and final.

… But still. This was the best player on one of the most dominant teams in NBA history. A top-five player in the league three years running, in the eyes of All-NBA voters. He and those close to him were right to feel jilted.

“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,” Tatum told reporters after the U.S. beat France to win gold. “I think the tough part is yes, you can use things to fuel you, but I’m still human. …

“Part of being in the moment, I’ve sacrificed and put a lot into this game and work really, really hard. So in the moment, it is tough. You’re not necessarily worried about fueling me for November or (whenever) the season is, but like I said, it’s something I’m going to take away from this and learn from this experience. It’s definitely challenging and humbling at the same time.”

With the Olympics now over, Tatum can shift his focus toward November, when he’ll have a chance to show Kerr exactly what the Warriors coach was missing by keeping him off the floor. And he won’t be the only one.

Celtics co-star Jaylen Brown didn’t even receive an invite to Team USA. The MVP of the Eastern Conference finals and NBA Finals was left off the initial Olympic roster, then wasn’t chosen to replace the injured Kawhi Leonard (teammate Derrick White got the call instead).

Brown’s gripe might be more with USA Basketball managing director Grant Hill and Nike, which he strongly believed had a hand in keeping him off the squad. But Kerr will be a symbol of how, even after his record-setting contract and superb playoff run, Brown is still broadly viewed as being a tier below the game’s true elites.

“I’m super fired up,” Brown told reporters after his snub. “I’ve got all the motivation in the world to just come out and improve, so I love it, honestly.”

Nov. 6 will be a true revenge game for the Celtics’ two franchise cornerstones, whose Olympic slights should only help the C’s this season. Add the various secondary storylines (2022 Finals rematch, Curry’s annual trip to Boston as his Hall of Fame career winds down, etc.) and it’s the single most compelling date on the calendar for the reigning NBA champs.