While it was difficult to deal with his benchings during the moment, Jayson Tatum just won a gold medal, saw more of the world, and could turn this into something he's forever grateful for if it helps him earn his place in basketball's pantheon.
When Steve Kerr benched Jayson Tatum in the United States men's basketball team's Olympic opener against Serbia, it was a shocking decision. When he did it in their semifinal rematch, it was aThanks to a remarkable final frame where Team USA outscored Nikola Jokic and Co. 32-15 in the last ten minutes, they prevailed, setting the stage for a historic night in Paris against the host country.
"So, you know, in the moment, it is tough, so I'm not necessarily worried about fueling me for November or whatever the season is. But like I said, it's something I'm going to take away from this and learn from this experience; definitely challenging and humbling at the same time. I had fun. I did. It was a great team of guys to be around, we went to some great cities and different countries, and we won the gold medal.
Tatum, who had a breakaway dunk courtesy of an unselfish decision by Curry, three rebounds, and one steal in 11:03 of playing time against France, focused on his role rather than pressing Kerr about his Olympic head coach's line of thinking.
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