Why did Steve Kerr bench Jayson Tatum?

Boston Celtics fans were infuriated when Steve Kerr chose to bench Jayson Tatum for Team USA’s opening game against Serbia at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The St. Louis native was healthy and available to play. Nevertheless, Kerr decided that Tatum, a top-10 player in the world, didn’t fit his rotation plans for the contest.

Kerr’s plan was clear. Reduce the number of minutes at the wing to provide additional playing time for a third big so that Team USA could send an additional body to Nikola Jokic throughout the tournament. However, Kerr’s decision to run a three-guard rotation, with Devin Booker as the small forward, raised eyebrows due to Tatum’s exclusion.

When speaking to the media as part of a post-game news conference, Kerr shared his reasoning behind Tatum’s DNP-CD. During a recent episode of “Celtics Digest” the host discussed Kerr’s reasoning and whether he made the right call in benching the three-time All-NBA First Team forward.

You can watch the full episode by clicking on the embedded video above.

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