NBA stars Jayson Tatum, Joel Embiid get rare 'humbling' experience on Team USA

VILLENEUVE-D’ASCQ, France — Jayson Tatum hadn’t spoken publicly since the benching, and by the time he had appeared again in front of the microphones, he was no longer benched.

Tatum started against South Sudan, and his 17 minutes in a 103-86 Olympic win were unremarkable, which for this discussion is beside the point.

“Definitely a humbling experience, right?” Tatum said, not about playing and scoring four points against South Sudan, but about not playing at all against Serbia in the Olympic opener. “Win a championship, new contract, cover of (NBA) 2K (video game) and then you sit a whole game. Cover of Sports Illustrated. So it was definitely a humbling experience.”

The Americans are 2-0 at the Olympics, 7-0 this summer and are just four games from capturing a fifth consecutive gold medal. Winning is or should be, the only goal, and the players and coaches all insist it is what matters among the USA Basketball traveling party in France.

But a mammoth side story, or at least the storyline grabbing all sorts of attention back home, is the one about a few major superstars not getting as many chances to play. On Sunday, it was Tatum, who, as he mentioned, is a newly minted champion with the Boston Celtics, signed a $314 million contract extension and graced the cover of games and magazines. He didn’t bother to say he was a first-team All-NBA performer for three years running and an All-Star for five consecutive seasons.

It happened again on Wednesday to Joel Embiid, who was the NBA’s MVP two seasons ago and probably would have won it again last season if not for knee surgery keeping him below the minimum number of games to be eligible. He averaged 34.7 points per game in 39 games for the 76ers.

Embiid was the odd man out against South Sudan, in part so Tatum could play, and in part because South Sudan’s lineup is fast enough that USA coach Steve Kerr felt he needed to play his fastest players. Embiid isn’t one of them, but his size and skill should — and 99.9 percent of the time do — transcend any matchup.

Unless he’s on a team of stars with USA Basketball.

“I think the NBA is so popular worldwide and the regular season is kind of a soap opera,” said Kerr, who is making these tough decisions. “And so we understand that, and social media takes over and everything becomes so dramatic. I think we need to give these guys more credit. They’re here to win a gold medal. They’re pros. They’re committed to each other.”

Kerr said the players aren’t bothered by the outside drama, but it is clear they notice. For instance, Bam Adebayo, who had a wonderful game against South Sudan with 18 points and seven rebounds, opened his news conference by admonishing a reporter for the mere suggestion that Adebayo might sit so Tatum could get a chance.

“Why did you pick my name?” Adebayo said. “My accolades don’t stand up?”

Tyrese Haliburton was benched before Tatum. Haliburton, a two-time All-Star and the NBA’s assists leader last season, didn’t play in the last exhibition game against Germany or the Olympic opener against Serbia. He finally saw some time against South Sudan, hitting two 3s in eight minutes, and afterward called the reduced playing time a “learning experience.”

Haliburton doesn’t have the résumé of Tatum or Embiid, and perhaps being the second-youngest player on Team USA, the masses had already penciled him in for not getting many minutes. But a player of Haliburton’s stature doesn’t drift toward the end of the bench.

“I mean, these guys are all champions, All-Stars, Hall of Famers, however you want to put it,” Kerr said. “So the whole thing is, are we committed to the goal? That’s it. I always tell our guys with the (Golden State) Warriors, the reason they pay us a lot of money is there is so much interest worldwide in what we do. And so you can’t have it both ways. You can’t accept your salary and then get mad at social media or get mad at all the coverage.

“The beauty of the Olympics is none of that crap matters. And I know everyone’s going to write about it, but none of that crap matters. We’re just trying to win every game and win a gold medal, and it’s an incredibly pure feeling and the guys are committed to each other and they’re not going to worry about any of that.”

The games at the Olympics are 40 minutes (10-minute quarters), compared to the 48-minute game in the NBA. In seven total games — five exhibition contests and two Olympic matches — LeBron James and Stephen Curry share the team lead at 21.6 minutes per game. Devin Booker is right behind them at 21.1 minutes. Anthony Edwards plays 19 minutes per game, while Anthony Davis, Jrue Holiday and Adebayo are all averaging about 18 minutes.

Typically, U.S. Olympic teams aren’t this loaded with superstars. There are usually a few role players on the roster who may be more prepared to play fewer minutes than they do in the NBA.

For the Tokyo Games in 2021, the U.S. brought JaVale McGee, Jerami Grant and Keldon Johnson. In 2016, Harrison Barnes was on the roster. In 2012, Tyson Chandler and Andre Iguodala were a part of Team USA. The 2008 Redeem Team included Carlos Boozer, Michael Redd and Tayshaun Prince. Those nine players have a combined five All-Star appearances between them.

The U.S. team in France now has 11 current All-Stars. The only player who isn’t one, Derrick White, is getting major minutes because he is one of their best perimeter defenders. He scored 10 points with three steals Wednesday, and in close games, Kerr has him on the floor at the end because he is so good on defense.

“Derrick White’s a phenomenal basketball player,” Kerr said of White, who is on Team USA as a replacement for Kawhi Leonard. “He’s a winner. He’s a FIBA player. FIBA is different for every single guy. There’s some different rules, different flow. Derrick’s a champion. He’s a phenomenal basketball player and he’ll continue to make a huge impact for us.”

Kerr said Embiid would return to the starting lineup for Saturday’s game, as would Jrue Holiday (who didn’t start for the first time in a while Wednesday but logged 15 minutes off the bench). What that means for Tatum is hard to tell. Kerr said it’s important now to keep everyone engaged, which would seem to suggest Tatum will play while another regular sits against Puerto Rico.

But when the Olympic knockout stage begins Tuesday, and there is no margin for error, Kerr will undoubtedly limit his rotation, and a player (or two or three) with outrageously impressive NBA accomplishments is never going to take off his warm-ups.

It’s an experience unique to this iteration of Team USA because of the enormous star power on the roster and the proliferation of talent all over the world — which means the Americans’ games are much closer. In blowouts, it’s easier to find minutes for 12 players in a 40-minute game.

There also is one more factor to keep in mind. This is Kerr’s last summer with Team USA — he previously told The Athletic he would step down after the Paris Games. So his only care is to win now. Get the gold. However, USA Basketball’s program has to think about the 2028 Olympics, which are in Los Angeles. Finishing anything other than first will be unacceptable.

The Americans will need to turn to Tatum, Booker, Embiid and Haliburton in four years. Which is why the rotation now is a more delicate juggling act.

“You can be frustrated that you want to play as a competitor but maybe have some empathy for some of the guys on my team (the Celtics) that don’t always get to play or play spot minutes,” Tatum said. “So it’s a learning experience to have, see it from that point of view, and just move on from it.”

Garden Party

Relive the Boston Celtics’ incredible 2024 championship season. Garden Party takes the reader from preseason all the way until the last minute in Boston.

Relive the Boston Celtics’ incredible 2024 championship season.

Pre-order

GO DEEPER

Team USA has found its best lineup

Advertisement

(Top photo of Joel Embiid and Jayson Tatum: Jesse D. Garrabrant / NBAE via Getty Images)