With a team full of some of the biggest superstars in the NBA, everyone knew that someone on Team USA will not get his desired minutes during the Paris Olympics opener against Serbia. However, not many expected that player to be Jayson Tatum, the only first-team All-NBA player on the roster and the most recent NBA Champion. What’s even more humiliating is that JT spent the entire game sitting on the bench. Sure enough, the Tatum disrespect enraged the fans and media as they slammed coach Steve Kerr for his decision, which might have led to Kerr upgrading JT for the next game, as per two NFL legends.

Discussing the Tatum snub on the Nightcap pod, NFL legends Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson reacted to Steve Kerr’s latest announcement, confirming that “Jayson will play tomorrow” against South Sudan. “I said it last night, the pressure that is on Steve Kerr to keep all the players happy, to make sure everybody gets minutes is very difficult. And I think he only came out today because of the backlash from the media and the backlash from the fans.” Chad remarked.

While Shannon agreed with the sentiment that deciding who to bench is hard, he believes that Tatum should not be the one catching the brunt of it, “That’s not Christian Laettner in 1992.” Obviously referring to the former Duke star who made the Dream Team alongside legends like Jordan and Magic without any pro basketball experience. “He’s the only collegiate player against all the other All World, All-NBA, All-Star players. We know with Jordan and Magic and all, we know what they were. This is not that.” Shannon added, shining light on the Tatum situation. When Laettner was frequently benched in Barcelona, no one batted an eye because he was a boy among men. But giving the same treatment to Tatum, who is a perennial All-Star and arguably among the top five players on Team USA, might be a bit disrespectful.

Even Christian Laettner saw more court time than Jayson Tatum

While Shannon made the Laettner comparison to prove his point, what’s surprising to know is that even he got more minutes upon his Olympics debut than Tatum did against Serbia. Although Tatum is by far a better player, Laettner has already one-upped him in one regard as he played in all 8 games for Team USA during the 1992 Olympics. Sadly, Jayson Tatum will never be able to say that for his Paris trip. In those eight games, Laettner averaged 4.8 points while getting 7.6 minutes on the floor each game.

Sure, the Dream Team was blowing out their opponents by an average 44-point margin throughout the campaign and that helped Laettner get on the court every game. But Steve Kerr could have done the same with Tatum against Serbia as Team USA was cruising through their opponents with no problem. And Tatum being a world class player would have only helped them increase the score difference. However, be it because of media pressure or matchup assessment, Kerr will make sure that Tatum gets some valuable minutes during their next encounter against South Sudan.

Before you go, do not forget to check out this crossover between BG12 and Georgia Bulldogs star Silas Demary Jr.