The US basketball team’s victory over Serbia to kick off their 2024 Olympic campaign brought joy to the American team’s fans. But for those who love the NBA champion Boston Celtics, they will have two opposite emotions.

While Jrue Holiday shined and Derrick White played well, Celtics’ number 1 star Jayson Tatum was “frozen” on the bench. Sharing the same fate as Tatum was Tyrese Haliburton, All-Star guard of the Indiana Pacers.

From being the Boston Celtics’ leading scorer last season, Jayson Tatum took on the role of “carrying water and cutting oranges” and did not play a single second in the US team’s opening match of the Olympics.

There were some reports that Jayson Tatum was not in good health, but the Celtics star quickly denied this. So what was the reason that the star of the NBA champion more than a month ago had to sit out the Olympic match despite being completely healthy?

Coach Steve Kerr shared this with reporters, saying that Jayson Tatum did not have any physical problems.

“ Jayson Tatum will definitely play, it’s just that each game we will rotate the lineup differently depending on the opponent and the marking ,” the captain of the US basketball team explained.

“Jayson works hard and is a professional. His class is undeniable, having been selected to the All-NBA 1st Team three years in a row. I feel bad not playing Jayson. But in a 40-minute game at the Olympics, it’s hard to play all 10 players.”

Coach Steve Kerr added that Kevin Durant’s return has affected Tatum’s minutes:

“With Kevin Durant back, I picked the lineup that I felt was best. Jayson Tatum will have a chance to show himself. I know he will be professional and ready for the next game.

In his first match since joining the US team, Durant left a strong impression with 23 points in just 17 minutes of play. He had an 8-8 FG with 5-5 3PT before finishing the match with an 8-9 FG efficiency, a rate of 88.9%.

Coach Steve Kerr has 11 All-Star/All-NBA players on his roster for the 2024 Paris Olympics. The only non-star is Derrick White, but he is a versatile and unpretentious player who often does a great job on defense.

Choosing a reasonable rotation of 12 players will not be easy, especially when FIBA basketball has less playing time than NBA (each half is 10 minutes compared to 12 minutes in the US Professional Basketball League).

Highlights of the match between USA and Serbia | Men’s Basketball Group Stage of the 2024 Paris Olympics

“I told my players to forget everything that happened in the NBA and focus completely on the Olympics. The whole team set a goal of winning 6 victories and will be determined to achieve that,” coach Steve Kerr added.

Jayson Tatum is likely to play in the U.S. team’s next match against South Sudan, which takes place at 2:00 a.m. on Thursday, August 1.