Kevin Durant speaks out about Jayson Tatum and Joel Embiid’s benching

Team USA secured a spot in the quarterfinals and improved to 2-0 in the 2024 Paris Olympics with a 103-86 victory over South Sudan on Wednesday. After the game, Kevin Durant praised both Joel Embiid and Jayson Tatum, who did not play in the opener against Serbia, for embracing their roles on the team.

“Last game we had a champion and an All-NBA player who didn’t play any minutes, and tonight we had an MVP who didn’t play any minutes. They didn’t complain. We had guys who stepped up and filled those roles perfectly,” Kevin Durant said, the four-time Olympian via Ben Golliver.

Adjustments to Team USA’s Olympic Lineup

The lineup adjustments allowed the Americans to field a more versatile team, better suited to South Sudan’s athleticism and long-range shooting, which had proven problematic during their July 22 match in London.

South Sudan made 14 of 33 three-pointers during the exhibition game, a fact that Steve Kerr highlighted when talking about the speed of their team.

On Sunday, Kerr used Embiid in a more traditional front-line role to counter Serbian center Nikola Jokic.

Nine days after LeBron James led a game-winning drive in the final moments to secure a narrow victory over South Sudan in an exhibition game in London, Team USA adjusted their starting lineup and turned up their intensity. They cruised to a victory over South Sudan, improving their record to 2-0 in Group C.

Embiid, who opted to play for the U.S. over Cameroon or France, had started every pre-Olympic game and the opener against Serbia. For the game against South Sudan, Kerr switched to Anthony Davis in the starting five and used Bam Adebayo as a backup. Adebayo was intoxicated off the bench, leading the team with 18 points.

Joel Embiid, the 2022-23 NBA MVP, did not play against South Sudan, making him the only player with a DNP-CD. After the game, Kerr clarified that the decision was based purely on matchup strategy, and Embiid is expected to return to the starting lineup for the team’s final group match against Puerto Rico, along with LeBron James, Steph Curry, Devin Booker and Jrue Holiday.

Embiid’s decision to sit on the bench followed Kerr’s decision to bench both Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton during Team USA’s 110-84 win over Serbia in their opening game of the Olympics just three days earlier.

Everyone does their part for Team USA’s victory over South Sudan

Davis, who contributed eight points and seven rebounds, suffered a minor injury to his right ankle in a collision with South Sudanese Wenyen Gabriel. The Los Angeles Lakers center confirmed afterward that he was “100 percent.”

Kevin Durant scored 14 points, while LeBron James contributed 12. Every American player scored except Joel Embiid, who did not play. Steph Curry started the game by missing his first seven shots, but that did not affect the result with his ultra-talented teammates.

Team USA had 29 assists on 37 made baskets, led 55-36 at the break and assisted on 17 of its 19 field goals in the first half. The team finished with a 53% shooting percentage from the field and 43% from the three-point line, with 11 different players contributing to the scoring.

The U.S. rounds out Group C against Puerto Rico (0-2) on Saturday. Serbia (1-1), which defeated Puerto Rico 107-66 after Jokic’s performance earlier on Wednesday, will face South Sudan (1-1) that same day. Both Serbia and South Sudan are vying for a spot in the quarterfinals.