Till yesterday, Team USA stormed through its opponents in the last few weeks. While Serbia provided a massive scare in the semi-finals, the Americans are now looking forward to the Gold medal game against France. LeBron James and Stephen Curry have been the stars of the team, with Kevin Durant stepping up when needed as well. They seem to have done all of this without current NBA champion Jayson Tatum, who is coming off an impressive season with the Boston Celtics. USA head coach Steve Kerr didn’t give Tatum a minute in the most important game so far. This decision has been criticized by many, including 3x All-Star Gilbert Arenas.

“You’re on the best team. And you’re like, no, ‘We should not be playing.’ Brandon Ingram felt the same exact way. It makes you hate your teammate even though that’s not your teammate. And it’s not your teammate. That’s what I said, you don’t hate your teammate,” Arenas said on the Gil’s Arena podcast. 

The veteran predicts that Jayson Tatum’s feelings and mindset with his teammates might take a drastic turn considering the contrast in their playing minutes. He, along with Tyrese Haliburton, has played fewer minutes than usual, which certainly could affect the relationship he has with his teammates.

As Arenas mentions, it might make Tatum even ‘Hate’ his teammates who feature on the biggest stage in the world so regularly. To make matters worse, his Celtics teammates, Jrue Holiday and Derrick White, are playing an important role for Team USA.

The USA head coach had to give his reason for the same after facing criticism from the NBA community. He said, “It’s an interesting position to be in when you have so much talent at your disposal. It’s an incredible luxury, and it’s also difficult for decision-making, but those were the guys we went to.”

Interestingly, both Haliburton and Tatum had two DNPs at the 2024 Paris Olympics, and it was against Serbia on both occasions. So it could be possible that they get minutes against France in the final. Nonetheless, Tatum’s minimal role so far has drawn the ire of his mother.

Jayson Tatum’s mom goes on a public outburst after Team USA benching

This peculiar statistic might indicate that Kerr might have had an ulterior motive before making his lineup decisions. A plausible reason could be that Kerr made decisions based on matchups against Nikola Jokic and Co. Despite this possibility, the decision seems to have angered Tatum’s mother. She replied to a post on X, “No he not. But if you find out what’s going on please let me know – unacceptable and makes NO SENSE,” after a fan questioned the reason for Tatum’s absence.

Tatum is undoubtedly an elite guard, but it might seem like he may not offer more than what Team USA lined up with against the Europeans in both of these games. With that said, there is a possibility that Tatum plays, but Haliburton’s playing time against France in the final remains a question mark.

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.