Jayson Tatum came to the 2024 Paris Olympics on an emotional high. He had just won his first NBA championship and the Boston Celtics rewarded their 26-year-old superstar with a supermax contract worth $315 million over five years. But when Tatum left Paris, he was feeling low despite winning his second Olympic gold medal.

Tatum played just 71 total minutes for Team USA, got two DNPs and appeared in just four games. USA Basketball head coach Steve Kerr benched Tatum in the Olympic opener against Serbia, and benched him again in the semifinals of the knockout round against the same Serbian squad.

The first game against Serbia was a blowout, but the same matchup was a nail-biter as Team USA needed ever bit of Steph Curry’s magical 36-point performance to advance to the gold medal game against host nation France.

Tatum did see some action against France, making one of three shots from the field and grabbing three rebounds in 11 minutes. Majority of Tatum’s minutes came in the first half as he rode the bench for much of the second half as Kerr rode Curry, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Anthony Davis down the stretch.

Tatum finished the Olympics with averages he probably hasn’t seen since his AAU days. During the 2023-24 NBA season, Tatum averaged 26.9 points and 8.1 rebounds while earning All-NBA first team honors. During the Paris Olympics, Tatum averaged 5.3 points and 5.3 rebounds while shooting 38.1% from the field. He played fewer minutes than both of his Celtics teammates Jrue Holiday and Derrick White. Holiday, who started five of the six games, played 94 minutes while White played 79 minutes.

Despite winning gold, Tatum left Paris feeling empty. He told the Boston Globe that the Olympic experience was “challenging and humbling” at the same time, and he wouldn’t commit to playing for Team USA when the topic of the L.A. Olympics in 2028 came up.

“You feel like you deserve to play and the competitor in you wants to play,” Tatum told The Globe. “And [Steve Kerr] is the coach for a reason. He makes those decisions.”

Tatum tried to diffuse the situation by not making it about him. But his lack of playing time was one of the main storylines for Team USA. It was hard to ignore, and the narrative could spill into the 2024-25 season — especially when the Celtics play Kerr’s Golden State Warriors.

“I sacrificed and put a lot into this game and worked really, really hard,” Tatum said. “In the moment it is tough, so I’m not necessarily worried about fueling me for [for the season].”

Kerr absorbed much of the heat for the Tatum sideshow. His explanation was simple. It was a math problem. “It’s just hard to play 11 people, even in an NBA game,” Kerr told reporters.

To be fair, Kerr is absolute right. It’s uncommon to play 11 or 12 players in a 48-minute NBA game, yet alone a 40-minute FIBA-style competition. In the playoffs, rotations tighten even more to about seven or eight guys.

Kerr was dealt a bad hand by USA Basketball managing director Grant Hill, who was mainly responsible for constructing the 12-man squad. Hill used an old-style approach by loading the roster with a boatload of NBA All-Stars with the hope of overwhelming the competition instead of building on the team that competed in the 2023 FIBA World Cup. Hill completely moved away from the highly successful “program” approach implemented by former USA Basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski and former USAB head Jerry Colangelo.

As good as the U.S. roster was for the 2024 Summer Games — and it was pretty darn good with four MVPs wearing the Red, White and Blue — it was terribly flawed. There was too much duplication and not enough defined roles and floor balance. Outside of sharpshooters Curry and Booker, who were the only true floor spaces, the squad Hill created had too many iso-centric players more comfortable in one-on-one settings. LeBron and KD needed the ball in their hands to be effective, which in turn limited the touches for ball-dominant guys like Tatum, Anthony Edwards, Joel Embiid, and Tyrese Haliburton.

Despite the poorly constructed roster, Team USA escaped with the gold medal thanks to Curry’s heroics. Steph’s nine 3-pointers was the catalyst in the 17-point comeback against Serbia in the semifinals and his flurry of 3-pointers — four in the last three minutes to be exact — during crunch time against France sealed the gold medal.

Kerr won’t be around to coach the U.S. men’s national team for the next FIBA World Cup or the L.A. Olympics in 2028, but Hill will likely be the decision-maker again when it’s time to build a roster. Hopefully, Hill learned from his mistakes and bring back the program approach his former mentor Coach K and Colangelo flawlessly executed to avoid another Jayson Tatum situation.

Mike Krzyzewski has led Duke to four national championships and 15 Final Fours. (GETTY IMAGES)

Mike Krzyzewski recently became the winningest coach in Division I men’s college basketball. He surpassed his friend and mentor, Bob Knight, who had 902 victories during his Hall-of-Fame career.

Krzyzewski notched victory No. 903 at Madison Square Garden in front of many of his former players at Duke. Spearheaded by a truckload of All-Americans during his 31 years as the King of Durham, N.C., Coach K has had some of the best teams in college basketball. He won four national championships and reached the Final Four 15 times. But which team is the best? OneManFastBreak.net examines Krzyzewski’s five greatest teams:

5) 2010: SINGLER SENSATION

What started out as a good team turned into a great team by season’s end. The 2009-10 Duke team lived and rarely died by the 3-point shot. Led by forward Kyle Singler and guards Jon Scheyer and Nolan Smith, the sharp-shooting Blue Devils led the Atlantic Coast Conference in scoring margin (+16.2), free throw percentage (.761), 3-point field goal percentage (.382) and 3-point field goals made (7.4 per game). Scheyer, Singler, and Smith became the second trio in Duke history to each score at least 600 points in a season. Singler saved his best for the NCAA Tournament as he was named the most outstanding player of the Final Four in leading the ACC champions to a 61-59 victory over Butler in the championship game in Indianapolis. Duke finished the season 35-5.

4) 2001: BATTIER TESTED

The 2000-01 Blue Devils, which finished 35-4 and 13-3 in the ACC, may have been Coach K’s most talented team with six players drafted in the NBA, and five remain active in the league.  The anchor of the team was Carlos Boozer. The 6-9 chiseled forward, who currently plays for the Chicago Bulls, was one of the best low-post players in college, averaging 18 points and nearly nine rebounds per game during the 2000-01 season. Boozer was surrounded by snipers in the perimeter. Forward Mike Dunleavy Jr., the son of the former NBA great and a member of the Indiana Pacers, was a deadly 3-point shooter and can handle the ball like a guard. Jay Williams was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2002 NBA draft, but his career was cut short by a devastating knee injury suffered after a motorcycle accident. Point guard Chris Duhon (Orlando Magic) and forward Dahntay Jones (Pacers) were very strong perimeter defenders and didn’t mind doing the dirty work. The most celebrated player from the 2001 team was Shane Battier. The 6-8 forward, who now plays for the Houston Rockets, was a Krzyzewski’s favorite and the emotional leader of the Blue Devils. Battier’s No. 31 jersey is one 13 numbers hanging in the rafters at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

3) 1991: REBEL SLAYERS

One of Krzyzewski’s motivational tactics is to never allow his teams to forget losses. When Duke was destroyed by UNLV in the 1990 national championship game, Krzyzewski admitted that his team was simply not on par with the Runnin’ Rebels but he made sure the core group of that Duke team (Christian Laettner, Bobby Hurley and Brian Davis) never relinquished the taste of that bitter defeat. The 30-point loss to UNLV remained in the minds of his players, and they responded by using that setback as motivation. The rematch between Duke and UNLV in the 1991 Final Four was probably Krzyzewski’s finest hour as a coach. He kept reminding his team they were better than Jerry Tarkanian’s Rebels, even though he told the media the Rebels were the superior team. Krzyzewski had been to three straight Final Fours prior to 1991, and he was undeservingly being labeled as can’t-win-the-big-one coach. He proved everyone wrong with a stunning upset of undefeated UNLV, which boasted future NBA standouts Larry Johnson and Stacey Augmon. The 1990-91 Duke squad, which finished 32-7, may not have been Krzyzewski’s most physically talented team, but it was his strongest team mentally.

2) 1986: THE FOUNDATION

Even though the 1985-86 Blue Devils team lost in the NCAA championship game to Pervis Ellison and the Louisville Cardinals they remain the school’s most important team. Why? Because Johnny Dawkins, Tommy Amaker, Jay Bilas, David Henderson, Danny Ferry, Billy King, Quin Snyder, and Mark Alarie were the foundation of Coach K’s program. Without them, there would be no Duke Dynasty. They were there during the infancy stages of the program when many doubted if Krzyzewski’s system was going to be successful. Amaker and Dawkins formed arguably the best backcourt in the ACC. Dawkins led the team in scoring (20.2 points per game) and was a consensus All-American. Alarie, Henderson and Bilas started in the frontcourt while King, Snyder and Ferry, a talented freshman, provided scoring punch off the bench. The ’92 team won a record 37 games and had just three losses.

1) 1992: THE LAETTNER SHOW

Duke and Kentucky staged an all-time classic NCAA Tournament battle in the 1992 East Regional final at the Spectrum in Philadelphia. Down by a point with 2.1 seconds left Grant Hill throws a perfect length-of-the-court inbounds pass to Christian Laettner, who grabs the pass at the free throw line, takes one dribble and swished a fadeaway jumper at the buzzer to advance Duke to the Final Four. It is one of the most dramatic plays in the history of the tournament, and it led to Krzyzewki’s second consecutive national title. The 1992 Duke team – which won 34 games and finished 14-2 in the conference – was led by Wooden Award winner Laettner. The 6-10 forward never lacked in confidence and his swagger permeated throughout the team. Laettner was surrounded by excellent perimeter players: Bobby Hurley, Thomas Hill, Grant Hill and Brian Davis. Thomas Hill was a shooting guard who could score in the paint and Davis completed Laettner in the frontcourt with his energy and athleticism. Grant Hill, a sophomore in 1992, was the team’s Swiss army knife. He could play four of the five positions and can create his own shot. Hurley was the point guard from New Jersey who may not fit the mold of a classic basketball player but he always got the job done and ran the offense to near perfection. Krzyzewski says his ’92 team was not only his most confident team but it was also his most determined. Laettner and Co. won the NCAA title the previous season and had a huge bulls-eye on their chest. But they cleared every hurdle and became the first team since Wooden’s UCLA squad to win back-to-back championships.

— (Home page photo courtesy of US Presswire)