Several highlights from the USA Basketball men’s team’s 2024 Olympic campaign opener versus Serbia may be found here. Tyrese Haliburton and Jayson Tatum, however, didn’t have as much fun in the 110-84 victory because they didn’t play any minutes. Stephen A. Smith was enraged by Steve Kerr’s contentious judgment. The ESPN pundit even launched into an ardent tirade, criticizing the coach for not including Tatum in the starting lineup.
Tatum is the only player on this LeBron James-led team to be selected to the All-NBA First Team for the 2023–2024 season. Taco Jay also won the Larry O’Brien trophy after having a great postseason.
Stephen A. Smith talks about Jayson Tatum
Kerr didn’t anticipate Tatum would play any minutes in Sunday’s USA vs. Serbia game because of these accomplishments.
The seasoned pundit seems perplexed by Kerr’s choice to start the Boston Celtics star on the bench the entire time. During an episode of “The Stephen A. Smith Show,” he blasted the head coach’s defense as “bullsh*t” and denounced the Warriors coach for treating Tatum like a water boy in a minute-long tirade. He said,
“The reigning, defending NBA champion Jayson Tatum. And you can’t find minutes? In a 26-point lopsided victory, you can’t find one minute? Steve Kerr, that’s some straight bulls**t. You gotta be kidding me. And to have him go through an entire NBA season and then go through the playoffs and capture a championship and still take time in his offseason to join Team USA and to have a champion riding the bench, like he’s some damn waterboy. You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Tatum getting benched is BS pic.twitter.com/Z2FfRs14yJ
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) July 29, 2024
After the team easily defeated Nikola Jokić and company with 26 points, Kerr attempted to explain his choice to start Tatum on the bench the entire time.
