Jayson Tatum Olympic stats (July 31): How did NBA champion fare against South Sudan?

Jayson Tatum finally hit the court with Team USA in the 2024 Paris Olympics. After not playing a single minute against Serbia in the tournament opener, the Boston Celtics star clocked his first minutes in the competition, going scoreless in the first half.

Tatum played 11:53 minutes in the first half, attempting two field-goal shots and scoring none. He attempted a 2-pointer and 3-pointer in little less than 12 minutes, adding three rebounds, two assists and one block.

After Kevin Durant went off against Serbia with 23 points, Jayson Tatum didn't see the court. Tyrese Haliburton sat out that game, too, which also sparked memes for the Indiana Pacers star.

Team USA dominated South Sudan in the first half of the game, 55-36. Bam Adebayo, LeBron James and Kevin Durant were the best scorers for the team with 14, 10 and nine points, respectively.

South Sudan had opportunities in the second period and failed to take their chances. Ultimately, attacking inefficiency came back to bite them as the reigning gold medalist’s quality finally showed.

Jayson Tatum would finish the game with four points, five rebounds, two assists and one block in 17 minutes of action. This time, Joel Embiid was the only player who didn't clock a single second after Bam Adebayo took over with 18 points and Anthony Davis added eight units.

Steve Kerr asked Jayson Tatum, Team USA to commit to take one game at a time

Team USA head coach Steve Kerr was criticized for not using Tatum during the Serbia game. He admitted he made a mistake, but explained that his job isn't easy and he'd have to leave some players out during the tournament.

That said, Kerr asked his players, including Tatum, to move on from games right after the end.

“The hardest part of this job is you’re sitting at least a couple of guys who are world-class, some of the very best players on Earth, and on the one hand it makes no sense at all," Kerr said. “On the other, I’m asking these guys to just commit to winning one game and then move on to the next one. I have to do the same thing. And so I felt like last night those were the combinations that made the most sense,” he added.

Jayson Tatum finished the 2023-24 NBA season as one of the best players in the league. He'll have more chances to showcase his talents and help Team USA get closer to the goal.