Team USA has been playing good basketball in the Paris Olympics, but with that comes certain sacrifices among the players. One of the players that have had to sacrifice was Jayson Tatum, who was a DNP against Serbia on July 28, and it caused an uproar on social media. Dwyane Wade, a former Olympian on Team USA, shared his thoughts on how he would've handled the situation if he was in Tatum's shoes.
“I don’t know, I don’t have that answer, I did come off the bench in 2008. My role was a little different, I think the thing is, outside of being benched, just as a player that’s going to play in the Olympics, you have to look at the team and say, ‘What am I going to bring that the team does not already have,'” Wade said on the Dan Patrick Show.
Even though Wade came off the bench during the Olympics for Team USA in 2008, he was also the leading scorer for the team, averaging 16 points per game. While Tatum is one of the best players in the league, he has to bring something that sticks out on the team to get minutes.
“It’s not about you being a great player or not, obviously each player on this team is a great player in their own right, but it’s about making sure that you bring something to the team that the other guys can depend on, that can rely on, that they would trust you that they know it’s going to be every night. And it has to be something different,” Wade said.
Jayson Tatum is trying to find where he fits on Team USA
Jayson Tatum is one the best scorers in the NBA and leads the Boston Celtics in that category, but everybody else on Team USA can score at a high level as well. That means that he has to bring something unique to the floor whether that's his defense or ability to be a playmaker. When Tatum was a DNP, he spoke about how it was a humbling experience.
“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.
Team USA head coach Steve Kerr shared his stance on having to bench players, and how they're all here for one common goal.
“The beauty of the Olympics is none of that crap matters. And I know everyone’s going to write about it, but none of that crap matters,” Kerr said to The Athletic. “We’re just trying to win every game and win a gold medal, and it’s an incredibly pure feeling and the guys are committed to each other and they’re not going to worry about any of that.”
Tatum was not the only player who has been a DNP in the Olympics, as Joel Embiid sat the entire game against South Sudan. Regardless of the minutes and how much they play, it looks like there is no ego involved with these players and they're committed to winning a gold medal.
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