Steve Kerr addresses if Jayson Tatum will play in Team USA's next game

The Team USA men's basketball team won its 2024 Summer Olympics debut in Paris on Sunday, defeating Serbia, 110-84.

One of the biggest headlines coming out of the Americans' victory, however, was the healthy scratch of Boston Celtics five-time All-Star forward Jayson Tatum.

Tatum was one of just two members of Kerr's squad not to see the floor on Sunday along with Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton.

The Golden State Warriors longtime head coach said on Monday that Tatum will play in Team USA's second contest, set for Wednesday against South Sudan.

"Jayson will play (Wednesday)," Kerr said, according to a report by ESPN's Brian Windhorst . "I'm not going to answer your next question, which is if he plays, who doesn't. But we're going to need him, and part of this job for me is to keep everybody engaged and ready, because my experience with this is crazy stuff happens."

Per Windhorst, Kerr met with the 2024 NBA champion before Sunday's contest to explain the decision.

Olympics veterans Kevin Durant and LeBron James did most of the heavy lifting for the Americans over Nikola Jokic's crew.

KD shook off his calf injury to score a game-high 23 points in 17 minutes off the bench, shooting 8-for-9 from the field, including 5-for-5 on three-pointers. James posted 21 points on 9-for-13 shooting, and all 10 players who appeared in Sunday's win were on the court for at least 11 minutes.

That included Tatum's Celtics teammates Jrue Holiday (15 points in 24 minutes) and Derrick White (two points in 16 minutes).

According to Windhorst's report, Tatum played between 14 and 21 minutes in each of Team USA's four exhibition games, but those all came with Durant out of action.

"Against South Sudan, a team that is loaded with athleticism and spreads the floor with 3-point shooters, Tatum and his ability to switch on wings makes much more sense," Windhorst wrote.