The games were played, the medal was won, the closing ceremony happened. Now for the raging debates. The only thing marring Team USA basketball’s gold medal finish is the lack of Jayson Tatum’s contribution to it. But not by his choice. JT is one of the few players since the Dream Team originated to win an NBA championship and Olympic gold in the same year. Nothing can take away from that. But fans are directing their anger at Steve Kerr for not giving the Celtics star his time in the spotlight. In comes Nick Young, a former Warriors player who knows how it feels.

In typical SwaggyP fashion, he posted the most confusing statement on X. In all fairness, he feels for Jayson Tatum, Tyrese Haliburton, Jaylen Brown, and Anthony Edwards, all the players who looked wronged by Team USA and Kerr. But he understands Kerr’s stance.

“So instead of ppl saying Kerr was tripping they rather bash Tatum and and ant man my favorite but dnt move the goalpost for him and others players and make Tatum the fall guy ….. then push this weak a** narrative like Tatum and Brown both elites, one all NBA & the other finals mvp gotta take the backseat to a defensive player and that they basically dnt fit on the team .. coach K wasn’t playing T prince over melo or iggy over kd thats coaching,” Young wrote. And yes, it reads as confusing as it looks.

He seemingly implies that Tatum, who didn’t play against Serbia twice and had only pity 11 minutes in the final game, deserves due credit for the win. He seems to be in the faction that also says that had Team USA lost (which they didn’t, they maintained their unbeaten record), JT would not be responsible for that. Young refuses to let Tatum get scapegoated and is pushing that he deserves every bit of the glory. If there is a ‘fall guy,’ as per Young, it’s Kerr.

Swaggy won his only championship playing for Kerr’s Warriors in 2018. Fans used to rant at the coach then that he underplayed Young and stunted him in his prime. So while it’s understandable why Kerr has to be very strategic in player rotation, Young basically put Tatum at par with Team USA’s all-time leading scorers, Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Durant, to say that not playing JT is like Coach K not playing Melo. As per Young, putting down Tatum is not the way to justify Kerr’s decisions.

Jayson Tatum has vets in his corner

JT has handled the entire situation with extreme dignity. Even when he responded for the first time since the Olympics, he expressed his disappointment in a civil manner. “You feel like you deserve to play and the competitor in you wants to play. And (Steve Kerr) is the coach for a reason. He makes those decisions,” he told Boston media.

Tatum played 71 minutes in all at the Olympics, one of the lowest minutes in Team USA history. Jeff Teague said on Club 520 that Kerr has ruined the image of NBA elites by insulting the reigning champs.

Young agrees that it’s a “weak a** narrative” to make it look like the Celtics star is not elite enough. He blames his ex-coach for that.

Stay tuned for more such updates. And join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger.