'Jayson will play': Tatum to Make 2024 Olympic Debut Wednesday

Bobby Krivitsky | Jul 29, 2024

Jul 10, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; USA forward Jayson Tatum (10) looks on in the third quarter against Canada in the USA Basketball Showcase at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports / Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports

Jayson Tatum spent the United States men's basketball team's 110-84 win over Serbia as a spectator.

After the victory over Nikola Jokic and Co., Team USA's bench boss, per Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe, Steve Kerr, stated, "With Kevin (Durant) coming back, I just went to the combinations that I felt made the most sense. It seems crazy. I thought I was crazy when I looked at everything and determined these are the lineups I wanted to get to.

"Jayson is first-team All-NBA three years in a row. He's one of the best players in the world. I went with the combinations I felt would make sense, and I talked to him, and he was incredibly professional," adding, "That was for tonight. He handled it well. He'll make his mark."

Tatum's Olympic and NBA teammate, Derrick White, registered two points, two steals, an assist, and a block in the win. He helped spark better ball movement and improved play on defense, reflected in his plus-15 plus-minus rating on Sunday.

This is what D-White does 😤

📺 NBC and Peacock pic.twitter.com/EUbhq9REUV

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) July 28, 2024

White shared post-game about the Celtics' star forward, who remained glued to the pine, adding another topic of conversation on social media to ignore, "He's in good spirits. He's obviously a hell of a player, and we've got a lot of great guys on the team, so he'll be all right."

But now it's time for Team USA to turn their attention to a rematch with South Sudan, who nearly pulled off a monumental upset against them before pool play began.

"Jayson will play (Wednesday)," Kerr said on Monday, per 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."

Kerr, an assistant coach for the United States men's basketball team at the 2019 World Cup in China and the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo, where Tatum helped them reach the top of the medal stand, before ascending to the role of head coach at the World Cup in Manila last summer, labeled juggling a star-studded roster the most challenging portion of the responsibilities on his plate.

"The hardest part of this job is you're sitting at least a couple of guys who are world-class, some of the very best players on Earth," Kerr said. "On one hand, it makes no sense at all. On the other, I'm asking these guys to just commit to winning one game and then move on to the next one. I have to do the same thing. And so, I felt like last night, those were the combinations that made the most sense."

Team USA's tilt against South Sudan will tip off at 3:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday.

Further Reading

Jrue Holiday, Derrick White Discuss Team USA's Opening Olympic Win

Steve Kerr Explains Benching Jayson Tatum in Team USA's Win vs. Serbia

Jayson Tatum Gets Candid about Relationship with Jaylen Brown

Summer League Struggles Offer Valuable Lessons to Jordan Walsh

D.J. MacLeay Shares How Baylor Scheierman Impressed Him in Celtics Win vs. Lakers

Jaylen Brown 'Wasn't Surprised' by Olympic Snub: 'All the Motivation in the World'

Celtics Rookie Anton Watson Shares Brad Stevens' Message to Him

Celtics' Coaching Staff Changes Match Theme of Boston's Offseason

Celtics Roster, Salary Cap Breakdown After Whirlwind Start to Free Agency

New Details about Plan to Sell Majority Stake in Celtics Revealed

Al Horford, Raising Cane's, and a Region that Loves Him

On Derrick White and the Fuel for Unprecedented Journey to NBA's Best Role Player