The Team USA men's basketball team pulled off a nail-biter in the semifinals against Serbia, but they did it with Jayson Tatum not playing. The Boston Celtics' star once again was a DNP in the Olympics, and some think that this may affect his future with the team in 2028, most notably Bill Simmons. The podcaster said on his show it's hard to believe that Tatum will play in the next Olympics.
“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,” Bill Simmons said on his podcast.
Tatum didn't play against Serbia when the two teams faced each other on July 28, but Team USA could have used him this time around because of them being down for most of the game until the end.
Team USA will look a lot different in 2028, with LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant most likely not returning. It will be up to players such as Devin Booker, Anthony Edwards, Tyrese Haliburton, and Jayson Tatum to take over the reins. This has been a good run for those players to see what's expected of them, but Tatum not playing this year could possibly affect how he views his future in the Olympics.
Should Jayson Tatum play in the Olympics in 2028?
When Jayson Tatum was a DNP against Serbia on July 28, he mentioned 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.
With this year's team being loaded with talent, there was always a chance that somebody would barely play, or not play at all. So far, it's been Haliburton and Tatum who's been affected the most by that. Tatum is an All-NBA player and just won a championship, but there are players like LeBron James and Kevin Durant who are going to get the most minutes because of their experience and what they bring to the court.
Joel Embiid was another player who's been a DNP during the Olympics, but he had one of his best games against Serbia to lead them to the gold medal game. It's expected that head coach Steve Kerr is catching criticism for his rotations, but he's most likely looking at matchups and how they can benefit Team USA.
If Tatum returns to play in the 2028 Olympics, there's a better chance that he will play and get more minutes than he's getting now. There's even a chance that Tatum could see the floor during the gold medal game against Serbia, but it will be up to Kerr on how he draws up the playbook.
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