Charles Barkley criticized the decision to bench Jayson Tatum during Team USA’s game against Serbia.
Team USA’s head coach Steve Kerr chose not to play Tatum in the opening game of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Kerr informed Tatum before the game, and the Boston Celtics forward accepted the decision professionally.
Barkley, a former Olympic gold medalist, believes Kerr made a mistake by not including Tatum in the rotation.
The NBA legend emphasized that every player on the roster deserves playing time in the Olympics.
“First of all, he’s got to play. Everybody on the team has to play,” Barkley said on SiriusXM NBA Radio.
Barkley acknowledged that players do not need to play extensive minutes but should at least get some time on the court.
“It’s not like putting Jayson Tatum in the game is a huge downgrade,” he added. “Like, come on man. Everybody deserves to play at least 10 minutes. Chuck Daily did a fabulous job. He had two starting units.”
Barkley praised Chuck Daly, the coach of the 1992 “Dream Team,” for ensuring all players received playing time.
“You can’t expect anybody to go over there and practice and then not play in the damn Olympics,” Barkley said. “Come on man. You got to give them 10-15 minutes along the way.”
