VILLENEUVE-D’ASCQ, France — Jayson Tatum had not spoken publicly since taking the bench and by the time he returned to the microphones, he was no longer on the bench.
Tatum started against South Sudan and his 17 minutes in the 103-86 Olympic win were nothing special. That is not relevant to this discussion.
“Definitely a humbling experience, right?” Tatum said, not about playing and scoring four points against South Sudan, but about not playing at all against Serbia in the Olympic opening game. “Winning a championship, getting a new contract, getting a cover of (NBA) 2K (video game) and then sitting out an entire game. Cover of Sports Illustrated. So it was definitely a humbling experience.”
The Americans are 2-0 at the Olympics, 7-0 this summer and just four games away from capturing a fifth consecutive gold medal. Winning is, or should be, the only goal, and the players and coaches all insist that’s what counts in the USA Basketball tour of France.
But a huge side story, or at least the one that’s getting all the attention at home, is about a couple of big-time superstars who don’t get as many chances to play. On Sunday, it was Tatum, who, as he said, is a fresh-faced champion with the Boston Celtics, signing a $314 million contract extension and appearing on the cover of games and magazines. He didn’t bother to mention that he’s been a first-team All-NBA player for three straight years and an All-Star for five straight seasons.
It happened again Wednesday for Joel Embiid, the NBA’s MVP two seasons ago and who likely would have won again last season had knee surgery not left him below the minimum number of games to be eligible. He averaged 34.7 points per game in 39 games for the 76ers.
Embiid was the odd one out against South Sudan, partly so Tatum could play, and partly because South Sudan’s lineup is fast enough that USA coach Steve Kerr felt he had to field his fastest players. Embiid isn’t one of them, but his size and skill should — and they will 99.9 percent of the time — transcend any matchup.
Unless he’s on a star team at USA Basketball.
“I think the NBA is so popular worldwide and the regular season is kind of like a soap opera,” Kerr said of making these tough decisions. “And so we understand that, and social media takes over and everything becomes so dramatic. I think we have to give these guys more credit. They’re here to win a gold medal. They’re pros. They’re committed to each other.”
Kerr said the players aren’t concerned about the outside drama, but it’s clear they’re noticing it. For example, Bam Adebayo, who had a stellar game against South Sudan with 18 points and seven rebounds, opened his press conference by chiding a reporter for suggesting that Adebayo might sit out so Tatum could get a chance.
“Why did you choose my name?” Adebayo said. “My accolades don’t hold up?”
Tyrese Haliburton was benched for Tatum. Haliburton, a two-time All-Star and the NBA’s assists leader last season, didn’t play in the final exhibition game against Germany or the Olympic opener against Serbia. He finally got some playing time against South Sudan, where he hit two 3s in eight minutes, and later called the reduced playing time a “learning experience.”
Haliburton doesn’t have the resume of Tatum or Embiid, and as perhaps the second-youngest player on Team USA, the masses had already slated him for his lack of playing time. But a player of Haliburton’s stature doesn’t get relegated to the end of the bench.
“Win a championship, new contract … and then you sit out a whole game. … It was definitely a humbling experience,” Jayson Tatum said. (Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)
“I mean, these guys are all champions, All-Stars, Hall of Famers, whatever you want to call it,” Kerr said. “So the whole thing is, are we committed to the cause? We are. I always tell our guys at the (Golden State) Warriors, the reason they pay us a lot of money is because there’s so much interest in what we do around the world. And so you can’t do both at once. You can’t take your paycheck and then get mad on social media or get mad at all the coverage.
“The great thing about the Olympics is that none of that nonsense matters. And I know everyone’s going to write about it, but none of that nonsense matters. We’re just trying to win every game and win a gold medal, and that’s an incredibly pure feeling and the guys are committed to each other and they’re not going to worry about anything.”
Olympic games are 40 minutes long (10-minute quarters), compared to the 48-minute NBA game. Through seven games total — five exhibition games and two Olympic games — LeBron James and Stephen Curry share the team lead with 21.6 minutes per game. Devin Booker is close behind with 21.1 minutes. Anthony Edwards plays 19 minutes per game, while Anthony Davis, Jrue Holiday and Adebayo all average around 18 minutes.
Normally the US Olympic teams are not this full of superstars. There are usually a few role players on the roster who might be better prepared to play fewer minutes than they do in the NBA.
For the 2021 Tokyo Games, the U.S. drafted JaVale McGee, Jerami Grant and Keldon Johnson. In 2016, Harrison Barnes was on the roster. In 2012, Team USA drafted Tyson Chandler and Andre Iguodala. The 2008 Redeem Team included Carlos Boozer, Michael Redd and Tayshaun Prince. Together, those nine players have made five All-Star appearances.
The U.S. team in France now has 11 current All-Stars. The only player who isn’t one, Derrick White, is getting big minutes because he’s one of their best perimeter defenders. He scored 10 points with three steals on Wednesday, and in close games, Kerr has him on the court at the end because he’s so good on defense.
“Derrick White is a phenomenal basketball player,” Kerr said of White, who is on Team USA as a replacement for Kawhi Leonard. “He’s a winner. He’s a FIBA player. FIBA is different for everyone. There’s a different set of rules, a different flow. Derrick is a champion. He’s a phenomenal basketball player and he’s going to continue to have a huge impact on us.”
Kerr said Embiid would return to the starting lineup for Saturday’s game, as would Jrue Holiday (who didn’t start for the first time in a while on Wednesday, playing 15 minutes off the bench). What that means for Tatum is hard to say. Kerr said the key now is to keep everyone involved, which seems to suggest Tatum will play while another regular plays against Puerto Rico.
But when the Olympic knockout stage begins Tuesday and there’s no room for error, Kerr will undoubtedly pare down his rotation. Plus, a player (or two or three) with particularly impressive NBA records will never take a warmup off.
It’s an experience unique to this iteration of Team USA because of the sheer star power on the roster and the proliferation of talent around the world — meaning the Americans’ games are that much more exciting. In blowouts, it’s easier to find minutes for 12 players in a 40-minute game.
There’s another factor to keep in mind. This is Kerr’s last summer with Team USA — he previously said The Athletics he was going to retire after the Paris Games. So his only concern now is to win. To take the gold. But the USA Basketball program has to think about the 2028 Olympics, which will be held in Los Angeles. Anything other than first place is unacceptable.
The Americans will have to turn to Tatum, Booker, Embiid and Haliburton in four years, so the rotation is now a more delicate juggling act.
“You can be frustrated that you want to play as a competitor, but maybe you have some empathy for some of the guys on my team (the Celtics) that don’t always play or get spot minutes,” Tatum said. “So it’s a learning experience to have, to look at it from that perspective and just move on from it.”
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Team USA has found its best lineup
(Top photo of Joel Embiid and Jayson Tatum: Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)
