Steve Kerr faced scrutiny for benching Jayson Tatum and Joel Embiid in recent Team USA games.
In the 2024 Paris Olympics opener against Serbia, Kerr did not play newly crowned NBA champion Tatum at all, despite a comfortable 26-point victory.
In the second game against South Sudan, Kerr chose to bench 2023 NBA MVP Embiid, while Tatum was put in the starting lineup.
Team USA won the South Sudan game by 17 points, continuing their strong performance.
“This is the fastest team in the tournament we’re going to play. We wanted to match up. They made 14 threes against us in London. The whole game today was going to be about switching and staying in front of people,” Kerr explained decision to bench Embiid, via Ben Golliver.
“Last game, we had a champion and an all-NBA guy not play any minutes, and tonight we had an MVP not play any minutes. They didn’t complain. We had guys who stepped up and filled those roles perfectly,” Kerr said.
“They’re pros & committed to each other. … I don’t read social media. I would hope our guys aren’t paying too much attention to that. That’s a regular season thing where the soap opera can carry the ratings. Here, it’s just win a damn gold,” Golden State Warriors head coach added.
