Carmelo Anthony is one of the most decorated players in the history of Team USA. He retired from the NBA in 2022 and finished his career as Team USA’s first four-time Olympian on the men’s team and is the leader in games played (31), points (336), and rebounds (125).

Anthony went on to win four medals in his time with Team USA. He won the bronze in ‘04 followed by three straight golds in ‘08 Beijing, ‘12 London, and ‘16 Rio de Janerio. His run in the Olympics will go down as one of the best in history.

It’s worth mentioning that Kevin Durant has since surpassed Anthony as the top player in Team USA history, only as recent as the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

That said, Anthony understands the dynamics and inter workings of Team USA after he had served 14-years with the program. While on his podcast, 7PM in Brooklyn, Anthony tries to explain why Boston Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum was benched and mistreated by Team USA.

“They wanted him to do what Devin Booker did- be a stretch four, space the court, play some defense, get some rebounds that’s it. But if you’re not told what’s your role and you just told to figure it out right now if I get in the game.. I’m overthinking like we humans too Basketball players are human athletes. I love talking about it because I want these young athletes out here to know shit is real out here. This man has one of the best resumes over the four or five years out of any player in any sport. What he went through I want everybody to see that shit- like that shit hurt to go through that around the world. I literally take my hat off to him, because he was resilient. He stood there and the world knows that he’s fucking pissed.”

Team USA head coach Steve Kerr surprisingly issued Tatum multiple DNPCDs during their Olympic run. Kerr will always be able to use a “matchup” as an excuse in the two games that Tatum was benched against Serbia by wanting to have Joel Embiid on the court to match with Nikola Jokic. But other than that, it’s hard to justify not playing Tatum more than he did.

Kerr also suggests that Durant would’ve likely been a starter had he not been injured. It’s an unfortunate way to think, but it seems like Kerr didn’t have any intentions of utilizing Tatum with a healthy Durant in his arsenal.

Steve Kerr has no intentions of playing Jayson Tatum with a healthy Kevin Durant.
(🎥 via @espn) pic.twitter.com/SaURIEJuFp

— The Celtics Files (@CelticsFiles) August 8, 2024

You can see the full podcast here where Anthony explains in full detail why Team USA did a disservice to Tatum and how he deserved better from the program.

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Photo Credit: Nathaniel S. Butler, NBAE Getty Images