Stars were in attendance for the U.S. men’s basketball’s first Olympic game against Serbia on Sunday.
LeBron James and Kevin Durant were the standout players for Team USA, while the Serbians were led by reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic.
In the end, the efficiency of James and Durant was too much for Serbia to overcome. The Americans emerged as worthy winners, building up a double-digit lead in the third quarter and refusing to relinquish it.
Many players were in action for the United States. There was one notable exception, however: Celtics star Jayson Tatum was left out of the competition without any real explanation, a surprise given the amount of playing time he received during the Olympic warm-up games.
Here’s what you need to know.
Why didn’t Jayson Tatum play against Serbia?
Tatum was a fixture in coach Steve Kerr’s rotation during the U.S. buildup to the Olympics, averaging 17.8 minutes of action during the Americans’ 5-0 run. An eclipse was lurking, though, and it always seemed likely that he would shake up the rotation once he recovered. Durant sat out every exhibition, citing a calf injury.
Durant returned to the court on Sunday and, as is typical for the Stars and Stripes, Durant was fabulous, scoring 23 points on 8-of-9 shooting to fuel the United States’ 16-point victory.
Durant’s arrival was always going to threaten the minutes of some players, particularly those who play a similar role to the 6-foot-6 forward. Ultimately, Tatum found himself in the third-string role, with Kerr opting to give Jrue Holiday, Devin Booker and Anthony Edwards time when Durant wasn’t on the court.
The result was predictable: Tatum did not play a single minute of action, not even in garbage time.
“I went with the combinations that made sense,” Kerr said after the game“That was it for tonight. He handled it well. He’ll leave his mark.”
Tatum wasn’t the only one who didn’t play on Sunday. Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton suffered the same fate despite having played a significant role in the warm-up games. However, his limitations, particularly on the defensive end, made his absence a little more understandable. Not to mention the fact that there is a surplus of talent at his position.
Given Tatum’s importance in the league (he was recently selected to be one of the faces of the sport’s biggest video game), his absence was all the more noticeable. And with Durant, James, Holiday, Booker and Edwards all impressing at times during Sunday’s game, it’s unclear when the Boston supernova might get a chance to return to the lineup.
Kerr indicated that Tatum would see an increase in minutes sooner rather than later, for what it’s worth.
“It’s tough, but Jayson handled it really well. I talked to him before the game today and told him it could happen this way with Kevin coming back and the lineups I wanted to have, but that will change,” Kerr said. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst After the game. “Jayson is going to play, every game is going to be different depending on the matchups. He’s a total pro, he’s been voted first team all-NBA for three years in a row. I felt like an idiot for not putting him in, but in a 40-minute game you can’t play more than 10 players. You really can’t.”
Is Jayson Tatum injured?
In a word, no. Tatum doesn’t appear to be suffering from any major ailments. And if you think he is, he quickly put those concerns to rest with a three-word response to Boston Globe reporter Gary Washburn.
I just asked Jayson Tatum if he was sick and he said, “No, I’m fine.” #Celts #Paris2024
—Gary Washburn (@GwashburnGlobe) July 28, 2024
