Jayson Tatum is one of the 10 best players in the NBA and is coming off a season where he made his fifth straight All-Star Game.
The former Duke star is currently playing for Team USA, but he did not make an appearance during Sunday’s 110-84 victory over Serbia.
Many speculated that Tatum was sick or hurt.
Via Keith Smith of Spotrac: “I wonder if Jayson Tatum is sick. A bunch of USA players weren’t feeling good over the last few days. Tatum doesn’t seem to have his normal gear on to play, and he’s in a different pair of sweatpants than everyone else too.
Maybe we’ll find something out postgame.”
During the day, Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe spoke to Tatum.
Washburn also reported that head coach Steve Kerr said that it was a coach’s decision not to play Tatum.
Tatum finished the 2023-24 season with averages of 26.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.0 steals per contest while shooting 47.1% from the field and 37.6% from the three-point range in 74 games.
He also led the Celtics to their first NBA Championship since the 2008 season (16 years ago).
The team was led by Kevin Durant, who finished with 23 points on 8/9 shooting from the field in only 17 minutes.
Team USA will play their next game on Wednesday when they face off against South Sudan.
