On the sidelines of the Celtics – Warriors match this night, the subject of playing time granted to Jayson Tatum at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games came back on the table. We recall that Steve Kerr – Golden State coach – was at the head of Team USA this summer, and he has no regrets regarding his management of the Boston star.
Steve Kerr knew he was going to get a less than warm welcome in Boston. Unsurprisingly, the Warriors coach was booed by the Boston public after the introduction of Golden State's major five, the fans having not forgotten his very little playing time granted to Jayson Tatum during the Paris 2024 Olympics ( including zero minutes against Serbia in the semi-final).
A whole lot of boos for Steve Kerr at TD Garden. pic.twitter.com/WXtS9hF887
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1854323061689888782?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
After the match, Steve Kerr spoke on this very sensitive subject in Boston, and justified his summer decisions through the final result (via Yahoo Sports).
“We were determined to win, and we won the gold medal. So I didn't think much about it, except that I didn't like the fact of not playing Jayson against Serbia, or Joel against South Sudan. These are not fun decisions, but our players have all been extraordinary. They were committed to each other, they were committed to winning the gold medal. They brought home the gold for their country… That’s the real story.” –Steve Kerr
As a reminder, at the time of the Olympics, Jayson Tatum was coming off an NBA championship title won with the Celtics, with three nominations in a row in the All-NBA First Team and a gold medal won at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. For many, and in particular the Boston fans, JT deserved much more consideration from the Team USA coach.
In the end, Steve Kerr will always be able to rest on the title of Olympic champion won in Paris, but something tells us that he will never be welcome in Boston again…
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Source texte : Yahoo Sports
