Popular ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith railed against Steve Kerr's controversial decision to bench Jayson Tatum during Team USA's 110-84 victory over Serbia to kick off their 2024 Olympics campaign. Stephen A. did not mince words in his reaction to Tatum's Olympics DNP, calling his benching disrespectful to one of the players who led the Boston Celtics to the 2024 NBA Championship.
Stephen A. Smith rants
In a snippet shared on X (formerly Twitter), Stephen A. Smith blasted Steve Kerr on the latest episode of his popular YouTube show. He opened the July 29 episode of “The Stephen A. Smith Show” by saying, “You can't find minutes in a 26-point lopsided victory?”
He also continued blasting Kerr on the broadcast by calling his decision to leave Tatum on the bench “some bulls**t.” Then, he went on to say that it was highly disrespectful for Kerr not to play Tatum after the Celtics star sacrificed his offseason to suit up for Team USA after winning the championship.
“To have a champion riding the bench, like he's a damn waterboy,” Stephen A. Smith said, “You've got to be kidding me!”
After the game, Team USA head coach Steve Kerr admitted that he left Jayson Tatum on the bench to give the returning Kevin Durant a chance to get some rhythm after recovering from a calf injury. Durant had not played in all of Team USA's exhibition games leading up to the Olympics. By going with “combinations that made sense,” Kerr figured Tatum would be the odd man out. Still, coach Kerr did not discount Tatum's potential contribution to their gold medal campaign, saying he “will make his mark” in future games.
During the 2024 Playoffs, Jayson Tatum averaged 25.0 points, 9.7 rebounds and 6.3 assists in 19 games to help lead the Celtics to their league-leading 18th title. Tatum himself scored 31 points and dished out 11 assists in Game Five of the 2024 NBA Finals to defeat the Dallas Mavericks, 106-88, and clinch the series 4-1.
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