One game after Team USA head coach Steve Kerr called himself an “idiot” for not playing Jayson Tatum in the Olympic opener against Serbia, he had another player not see an ounce of playing time.
This one was an NBA MVP.
Joel Embiid, the Philadelphia 76ers star center, was a starter against Serbia, but he was replaced by Los Angeles Lakers big man Anthony Davis in the 103-86 victory over South Sudan on Wednesday in Paris.
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Joel Embiid of Team USA is shown before the matchup against Serbia at Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Lille, France, on July 28, 2024. (Catherine Steenkeste/Getty Images)
He may have started the game on the bench, but Embiid surely would check in at some point, right? Wrong.
Embiid was the only player on Team USA to not see an ounce of playing time in the first half, let alone the entire game, against South Sudan, a scrappy bunch that gave the Stars and Stripes fits during their exhibition game this month.
Embiid, who opted to play for the United States while also having eligibility for France and his home country, Cameroon, was deadpan on the Team USA bench throughout the game, as the broadcast picked up.
Instead of substituting for Davis off the bench, Kerr called on Bam Adebayo to relieve him. Adebayo played 21 minutes and led the U.S. in points with 18 on 8-of-10 shooting, along with seven rebounds, two blocks and one steal.
Davis played 19 minutes, tallying eight points on 4-of-7 shooting with seven boards, three assists, two blocks and one steal as well.
Embiid was the NBA’s leading scorer last season, averaging 33 points per game for the Sixers, but he struggled in the team’s opener against Serbia. He only played 11 minutes, going 2-for-5 from the field for four points while going 0-for-3 from the free throw line. He had just two rebounds as well.
Kerr’s explanation after the game was that South Sudan’s speed was the reason behind Embiid’s benching, believing that Davis and Adebayo matched up better against them. He also said Embiid will be in the starting lineup against Puerto Rico on Friday.
Joel Embiid of Team USA is shown before the game against Serbia on July 28, 2024. (Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)
Tatum was the odd man out in Team USA’s opener, which led to a frenzy of social media posts about the Boston Celtics star not getting any playing time. Like Kerr said, though, he got playing time in this contest, as he was among the starting five.
However, Tatum didn’t do much with his 17 minutes on the floor, scoring four points on 2-of-4 shooting with five rebounds and two assists.
But it’s clear Kerr has a tough job with this loaded 12-man group he brought over to Paris for these Summer Games. You don’t see every player getting time on the court in NBA games, and the same goes for these contests when you’re trying to win Olympic gold.
In turn, lineups are matchup-based for Kerr and his coaching staff, and they clearly saw Davis and Adebayo as the better centers for this game against South Sudan.
But when looking at the box score from Team USA’s 101-100 win over South Sudan this month, Embiid had 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting with four three throws made out of six, seven rebounds and two assists while posting a plus-15 when he was on the floor.
Joel Embiid of Team USA is shown before the game against Serbia on July 28, 2024. (Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)
Either way, after what happened in the last game with Tatum, social media made jokes about Embiid sitting for the whole game.
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With more games to come, someone is going to have to be the odd man out. But Kerr choosing Tatum, a three-time All-NBA first-team honoree the past three seasons, and former MVP Embiid were interesting choices to begin the Olympics.
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