On Sunday afternoon, Jayson Tatum sat on the bench and watched Team USA blow out Serbia, without even having to take off his warm-ups.
He wasn’t hurt, and he wasn’t sick — for maybe the first time in his career, he simply fell out of the rotation. In turn, despite America’s dominant victory, the national storyline became the DNP.
Overwhelmingly, media and fans alike between blasted Steve Kerr’s decision to keep the five-time All Star entirely out of the lineup.
“The reigning defending NBA champion Jayson Tatum — and you can’t find minutes?” Stephen A. Smith yelled on his show. “In a 26-point lopsided victory, you can’t find one minute?”
ESPN analyst Tim Legler criticized the coaching staff’s decision to bench a superstar of his caliber in a more pointed way, citing the fact that Derrick White played 15 minutes, while Jayson Tatum never even checked into the game.
“Derrick White just joined the team,” Tim Legler said on the All NBA podcast. “Derrick White was the fifth best player on his own team.”
Espn analyst Tim legler says that Steve Kerr benching Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum against Serbia today was incredibly disrespectful Derrick White got 15 mins and he’s a 5th option on the Celtics pic.twitter.com/qSH8kz0Znv
— joebuddenclips (@Chatnigga101) July 28, 2024
But, the reality is that Derrick White wasn’t the reason that Tatum didn’t play. Team USA enjoys some pretty remarkable depth at the forward position, and Lebron James and Kevin Durant were both exceptional against Serbia, combining for 45 points on 17-21 shooting. Plus, as head coach of the Warriors, Kerr famously prefer three-guard lineups — and he’s continued to lean into that preference with USA Basketball, opting for heavier doses of Devin Booker, Anthony Edwards, Steph Curry and Jrue Holiday. Maybe those explanations make sense, maybe they don’t.
Regardless, the conversation around this game from a Celtics lens should not have exclusively centered around Tatum’s lack of minutes.
In 16 minutes off the bench, Derrick White played tenacious defense, racking up two steals and a block. Team USA outscored Serbia by 15 when he was on the court. His performance and solidified rotation spot, however, became an afterthought. In exhibition play against South Sudan, White helped change the momentum of the game, dishing out 5 assists in 11 second-half minutes, and helping secure a game-saving stop on the final possession.
For the second time in less than a month, Derrick White’s accomplishments have been diminished in effort to elevate his Celtics teammates. When Kawhi Leonard was a late scratch from the Olympics team, White’s substitute wasn’t sufficiently celebrated by the Celtics world, because the discourse centered around Jaylen Brown’s omission. Some of that was undeniably some of Brown’s doing, but the broader conversation nonetheless failed to highlight the two-way value that someone like Derrick White could bring to the team.
Derrick White will tell you the outside noise doesn’t impact him — last month, his father confirmed to CelticsBlog his son told him he was just going to stay true to himself.
“There’s always going to be some sort of chatter or buzz about something,” Richard White said. “This whole year, there was always stuff being said. He goes and he controls what he can control.”
Still, something special is happening to one of the most beloved players in Boston, and it’s not getting the recognition it deserves. A player who couldn’t even get a Division I offer out of high school has solidified himself as one of the most valuable guards on a U.S. Olympic basketball team pursuing a gold medal.
And it’s not just White either — Jrue Holiday was the team’s second-leading scorer with 15 points, and headlined the stifling defense with his full-court pressure. The elite play of the championship backcourt has been overlooked, albeit perhaps inadvertently — but it’s something that Celtics fans should celebrate. White and Holiday’s play was instrumental in securing Banner 18, and could prove to be equally critical en route to an Olympic gold.
It’s the nature of the news cycle: harp on the negative, break down the controversy, point fingers, and debate who has been disrespected. Controversy sells, and Steve Kerr created a massive one whether or not he realized the backlash that would follow. And, it’s undeniable that the Jayson Tatum benching storyline is an intriguing one — it’s incredibly unusual for a player of his caliber, and with his resume, to sit on the sidelines for an entire basketball game.
But, if it’s the only Celtic storyline, we’ve missed an opportunity to give credit where it’s due and enjoy the play of two of the most well-rounded guards in all of basketball. Holiday and White have both been pretty perfect thus far, and from a long list of talented American guards — one that includes Kyrie Irving, Damian Lillard, Donovan Mitchell, and countless others — it’s the Celtics’ championship backcourt that has anchored Team USA early on in the Olympics.
Olympic play will continue, and new storylines will emerge. Maybe Jayson Tatum will get 20 minutes of action against South Sudan, or maybe the DNPs will continue to pile up. Regardless, I’d urge those who follow the Celtics to recognize and appreciate how remarkable it is that the same two role players who helped secure the NBA championship are getting the chance to showcase at the Olympics that they’re the best role players in the world.
