A number of of Group USA’s video games on the trail to its fifth consecutive gold medal in males’s basketball have been outlined by who did not play. Controversy surrounded Steve Kerr’s determination to bench Jayson Tatum in each video games towards Serbia and Joel Embiid towards South Sudan. Derrick White was held out of the gold medal sport towards France, and loads of different gamers on the roster noticed their function fluctuate all through the event. Throw in Jaylen Brown’s response to getting held off of the roster fully and for a lot of Group USA’s run, all anybody needed to speak about was who Kerr was and wasn’t taking part in.
The one bench participant whose function by no means actually modified? Tyrese Haliburton. All through the event, he was the crew’s twelfth man. He performed in rubbish time however wasn’t a member of the rotation. And whereas another American gamers struggled to cover their discontent when it got here to taking part in time, Haliburton leaned into the joke on Saturday with a hilarious tweet with a gold medal round his neck, referencing his Olympic efficiency.
Haliburton appeared in simply three video games for Group USA, totaling 26 minutes and scoring eight factors. All three have been team-lows, however that’s the nature of taking part in for Group USA. On a roster wherein everyone seems to be a star, somebody all the time winds up getting the quick finish of the stick. Given the drama surrounding a few of Kerr’s different lineup selections, Haliburton’s willingness to just accept a task wherein he barely performed proved pretty priceless to Group USA.
Haliburton performed nicely for Group USA on the 2023 FIBA World Cup, averaging an environment friendly 8.6 factors and 5.6 assists per sport. He’s an ascending NBA All-Star with a FIBA-friendly, pass-first type. His bench-warming function could pay dividends for him on Group USA down the road. 4 years from now, when most of Group USA’s older gamers have probably retired from Olympic responsibility, Haliburton will probably be up for a much bigger function on the crew. For now, although, Haliburton is pleased to have simply gotten an “A” on his group undertaking.
