Steve Kerr 'felt like an idiot' benching Duke basketball's Jayson Tatum in Olympics

It was set up to be the summer of Jayson Tatum after the Duke basketball star won his first NBA Title, signed the richest contract in NBA history, was named as the cover athlete of NBA2K25, and was heading to Paris in an attempt to win his second gold medal at the Olympics.

All was going according to plan until Tatum never took off his warmup gear as Team USA defeated Serbia, 110-84, on Sunday in its first game of Pool C action.

Tatum was expected to be a key fixture on the floor for the Americans, but things changed when Kevin Durant was cleared to play after missing all of trainign camp as well as the team's exhibitions with a calf strain.

Durant came off the bench for 23 points, only missing one of his nine shot attempts in the victory.

Head coach Steve Kerr said that the return of Durant and the need for size against Serbia was going to limit Tatum's playing time.

"It's tough, but Jayson handled it really well," Kerr said to ESPN after the game. He also explained that he spoke to Tatum prior to tipoff and told him that there could be a chance he wasn't used in the matchup.

"I felt like an idiot not playing him," he continued.

Tatum started two of the five exhibitions for Team USA, including a start against Serbia in its third matchup prior to the Olympics, and averaged 17.8 minutes per contest.

"That'll change. Jayson is going to play," Kerr emphasized. "Every game is going to be different based on matchups. He's a total pro. He's First Team All-NBA three years in a row."

Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton also did not play in the game.

Team USA returns to the court on Wednesday, July 31 (3:00 p.m. ET, USA) for a matchup with South Sudan, which nearly upset the Americans in an exhibition earlier in the month if not for a last second basket by LeBron James.