Warriors coach Steve Kerr knows he will likely hear it from Celtics fans when the teams meet during the 2024-25 season. After all, it was Kerr who benched Celtics star Jayson Tatum with Team USA during the Paris Olympics.
“I think they’re going to be all over me,” Kerr told Steve Aschburner of NBA.com, laughing, about Celtics fans. “That’s fine.”
For the record, the Warriors make their lone visit to Boston early in the season, on Nov. 6. Everyone knows Kerr will hear the boos.
The Celtics, of course, are reigning NBA champions. They also went to the Finals in 2022, when they lost to Kerr and the Warriors. Now this alleged rivalry has a new twist.
Tatum, for his part, was fairly diplomatic about the benching. He finished 10th on Team USA in scoring at 5.3 points per game. The Americans won the gold so it really shouldn’t matter. But in this day of social media and everyone having an opinion … well, Kerr received plenty of backlash.
“It’s one of those things where there’s been so much talk and debate,” Tatum told Jared Weiss of The Athletic. “There was a period of is he a superstar or not? Then it was a big debate, like, is he championship ready now? Then it’s like how could he not get in the (Olympics)? I’m like, I just won a championship, it’s the summertime, it might be nice to have a little break where you don’t turn on ESPN and they’re talking about you. But I guess this is part of it, and that may be the level that I’ve reached now in my career.”
The Warriors failed to make the playoffs and open the season Oct. 23 at Portland. Kerr is entering his 11th season as Golden State coach.
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