Stephen Curry's teammate drops Warriors' Steve Kerr take on Jayson Tatum benching

09/04/2024 10:50 AM

It’s been a month since the Team USA men’s basketball team won gold against France in the Paris Olympics, and people are still talking about it. Stephen Curry recently mentioned that he still goes back and watches the highlights of the game, and some of the players are still posting pictures from the experience. One of the main topics that came from the Olympics was Steve Kerr benching Jayson Tatum in several games.

Kevon Looney, Stephen Curry’s teammate, recently spoke with NBA insider Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson about his thoughts on Kerr benching Tatum.

"I know as a player, it sucks," Looney said. "I know that they went out there to sacrifice and give minutes for our country and not seeing him get minutes sometimes is always gonna be tough especially dividing the talent and then who's deserving to play but Steve's all about winning; he's going to do all the necessary things to win and he did win so… and when he makes a call like that and it actually works out, you kind of have to take it. He's a coach that won as a player, a GM and as a head coach. So, you kind of have to respect his basketball knowledge; they have a lot of great minds over here. If he sees something on the court, he's usually right."

Looney plays for Kerr, so he knows how he operates when it comes to making adjustments, and he’s probably seen it work more times than others.

Steve Kerr explains Jayson Tatum benching

Jayson Tatum was a DNP in the Paris Olympics twice, and they both came against Serbia. Kerr received backlash both times for the decision, and after the second time, he explained why he decided to sit Tatum.

“It’s not about anything Jayson is doing or not doing,” Kerr said. “It’s just about combinations and the way that group has played together, the way Kevin has filled in since he came back from his injury. It’s just a math problem more than anything.”

Tatum opened up about being benched during the Olympics, and some thought that it would affect his decision to play in 2028.

"It was a tough personal experience on the court, but I’m not going to make any decision off emotions," Tatum said. "If you asked me right now if I was going to play in 2028 — it is four years from now, and I [would have] to take time and think about that. So I’m not going to make any decision based off how this experience was or how I felt individually."

If Tatum returns to play in 2028 when the Olympics take place in Los Angeles, there’s a good chance that he’ll receive more playing time.

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