Team USA is doing well in the Paris Olympics because they’re back in the quarterfinals after winning their first two group-stage matches against Serbia and South Sudan. However, rather than talk about their victories, much of the online discourse is more about who was not being played by head coach Steve Kerr.
Jayson Tatum, Tyrese Haliburton, and Joel Embiid were the butt of jokes on social media, as Tatum and Haliburton didn’t play a single minute against Serbia, and ditto for Embiid against South Sudan.
In his latest interview on The Knuckleheads Podcast, Chris Paul discussed how important it is to have the players accept their roles, even if they’re not going to see the court on any given game, based on his prior experiences with Team USA.
The two-time Olympic gold medalist gave a huge shoutout to Carlos Boozer, Michael Redd, and Tayshaun Prince, who mostly rode the bench during the 2008 Beijing Games.
“Booz, Michael Redd, and Tayshaun Prince were the most guys on that team. When people think about these great USA teams or whatnot, they just automatically start thinking about the stars,” Paul explained.
“Those guys were superstars, but those three were so important on our team, man. It’s just like the All-Star Game right? Everybody can’t play. So you gotta have guys supporting the team, showing up every day, and not sitting over there pouting mad that they’re not getting to play that much. That 2008 team was special,” he added.
Steve Kerr speaks up on fans questioning his Team USA rotations
Team USA head coach Steve Kerr reiterated that he doesn’t care about his critics, as he’s only focused on winning games for his country.
“The beauty of the Olympics is none of that crap matters. We’re just trying to win every game and win a gold medal, and it’s an incredibly pure feeling — and the guys are committed to each other, and they’re not going to worry about any of that,” Kerr said via ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.
Team USA will wrap up their group stage campaign with a game against Puerto Rico on Saturday.
