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Jayson Tatum’s Mom Demands Answers Over His Lack of Team USA Playing Time
Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum was benched for the second time in this summer’s Games in Team USA’s 95-91 semifinal win over Serbia, and Tatum’s mom, Brandy Cole, wants to know why.
Earlier in the Games, Tatum missed the Olympic opener against Serbia due to a DNP-Coach’s Decision. Team USA coach Steve Kerr gave his explanation at the time for why Tatum didn’t play, but he may have to give another one to Cole, who had a fiery reaction to seeing her son left off the court on Thursday.
After Team USA punched their ticket to the gold medal match, Cole took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to air her grievances.
ESPN college basketball analyst Dick Vitale shared an inquisitive post Thursday night wondering if Tatum wasn’t getting any minutes because he was injured.
Vitale wrote, “Someone pls let me know is @jaytatum0 injured as he hasn’t received the PT ( playing time ) u would expect an All NBAplayer to get .”
“No he not,” Cole responded. “But if you find out what’s going on please let me know—unacceptable and makes NO SENSE.”
No he not. But if you find out what’s going on please let me know - unacceptable and makes NO SENSE. https://t.co/vtz1W398XJ
— BCole_Esq (@Brandy_N_Cole) August 9, 2024
Tatum, who’s coming off his first NBA championship with the Celtics, notably helped Team USA clinch gold in the Tokyo Games three years ago, averaging 15.2 points across six games in the tournament as the team’s second-leading scorer behind Kevin Durant.
Despite his past Olympic success, Tatum continues to serve as an afterthought in Kerr’s lineups and on a stacked USA squad in Paris this summer. Tatum’s best performance of the Games so far came in group play, when he recorded 10 points and 10 rebounds in Team USA’s 104-83 win over Puerto Rico.
“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,” Kerr said of Tatum’s benching on Friday. “It’s just a math problem more than anything.”
Team USA will play host nation France in the gold medal match on Saturday.
Kristen Wong is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. She has been a sports journalist since 2020. Before joining SI in November 2023, Wong covered four NFL teams as an associate editor with the FanSided NFL Network and worked as a staff writer for the brand’s flagship site. Outside of work, she has dreams of running her own sporty dive bar.