Jayson Tatum’s Mom Comments on Son's Benching During Team USA’s Gold Medal Quest
The All-NBA player didn't see a minute off the bench in the exciting semifinal win against Serbia on Thursday.
Jayson Tatum's mom wants to get some answers regarding her son's lack of playing time on the USA men's basketball team's quest for a gold medal at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics.
On Thursday following Team USA's nail-biting win against Serbia, Brandy Cole retweeted a pair of tweets from ESPN college basketball analyst Dick Vitale and Barstool Sports writer Dan Greenberg questioning Tatum's absence on the court. In Greenberg's tweet, he took aim at Steve Kerr's decision to bench the NBA champion for a second game in a row and Vitale wondered if the All-NBA player was injured.
However, Cole's retweet of Vitale's post came with a comment that squashed rumors her son was injured. According to Cole, Tatum's lack of time on the court is out of the ordinary.
"No he not," Cole replied to Vitale's tweet. "But if you find out what's going on please let me know—unacceptable and makes NO SENSE."
Kerr gave an explanation on Friday regarding Tatum's absence during the semifinal game against Serbia. According to the Golden State Warriors coach, Tatum sitting out was simply a "math problem."
"It's just about combinations and the way that group has played together, the way Kevin [Durant] has filled in since he came back from his injury," said Kerr on Friday. "It's just a math problem more than anything."
After Team USA's group play win against Serbia last month, though, Kerr claimed he felt dumb not playing Tatum. He stated Kevin Durant's explosive return from a calf injury had something to do with Tatum's benching.
“[Jayson Tatum] handled it well. I talked to him today before the game, that it may play out this way just with Kevin [Durant] coming back," Kerr told ESPN's Brian Windhorst. "I felt like an idiot not playing him...I went with the combinations that made sense.”
Tatum had a great game against Puerto Rico in group play, scoring 10 points and 10 rebounds. However, the recently crowned NBA champ has been riding the bench alongside the Indiana Pacers' Tyrese Haliburton.
The 26-year-old got ample playing time during the 2021 Tokyo Summer Olympics when he was the team's second-leading scorer behind Kevin Durant, with an average of 15.2 points in six games. The legendary Gregg Popovich coached that team.
Fans will be looking to see if Tatum finally gets playing time when Team USA takes on host nation France in the gold medal match on Saturday.
