Team USA defeated Serbia during the semifinals of the Paris Olympics, and Jayson Tatum was once again a DNP. Head coach Steve Kerr has mentioned that it's all about lineups, but most people think that his lack of playing could affect Tatum's future in the Olympics. Nonetheless, Steve Kerr reiterated that it's more about what other players are doing than what Tatum isn't doing.
“It’s not about anything Jayson is doing or not doing,” Kerr said. “It’s just about combinations and the way that group has played together, the way Kevin has filled in since he came back from his injury. It’s just a math problem more than anything.”
This is Tatum's second time in five games that he hasn't played, but both times have come against Serbia, which gives a better reason why Kerr is going with matchups.
Jayson Tatum's role has been in question during the Olympics
Jayson Tatum's role has been questioned by many outside of the Paris Olympics. Recently, Bill Simmons made a claim on his podcast that Tatum might not play in the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles due to his limited role this year.
“The big one was Tatum didn’t play, and we talked on Tuesday about why Tatum probably wouldn’t play in this game, especially if it’s close because his shot has betrayed him. I find it hard to believe he's going to play in 2028 now,” Simmons said on his podcast. “I'm just going to throw that out there.
“I have no inside information at all, I'm just saying that when you're making hard choices like this, I think there's going to be ramifications down the line would be my guess.”
Tatum mentioned during the first time he was a DNP against Serbia how it felt not being on the court for Team USA after accomplishing other things during the NBA season.
“Win a championship, new contract, cover of [NBA] 2K, and then you sit a whole game. Cover of Sports Illustrated. So it was definitely a humbling experience,” Tatum said to The Athletic's Joe Vardon.
Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton have been the two players on Team USA who have had a limited role, but still get minutes in certain situations, depending on how the game is going. Both players will most likely be considered for the Olympics in 2028, and they will also probably see more playing time since they already have experience on the team.
In the Tokyo Olympics, Tatum played a big role in getting Team USA a gold medal, but this time around things have been different since LeBron James is on the team, and Anthony Edwards has asserted his dominance as well. It will be interesting to see what decision Tatum makes when 2028 comes around.
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