Several of Team USA’s games on the path to its fifth consecutive gold medal in men’s basketball were defined by who didn’t play. Controversy surrounded Steve Kerr’s decision to bench Jayson Tatum in both games against Serbia and Joel Embiid against South Sudan. Derrick White was held out of the gold medal game against France, and plenty of other players on the roster saw their role fluctuate throughout the tournament. Throw in Jaylen Brown’s reaction to getting held off of the roster entirely and for much of Team USA’s run, all anyone wanted to talk about was who Kerr was and wasn’t playing.
The one bench player whose role never really changed? Tyrese Haliburton. Throughout the tournament, he was the team’s 12th man. He played in garbage time but wasn’t a member of the rotation. And while some other American players struggled to hide their discontent when it came to playing time, Haliburton leaned into the joke on Saturday with a hilarious tweet with a gold medal around his neck, referencing his Olympic performance.
Haliburton appeared in just three games for Team USA, totaling 26 minutes and scoring eight points. All three were team-lows, but that is the nature of playing for Team USA. On a roster in which everyone is a star, someone always winds up getting the short end of the stick. Given the drama surrounding some of Kerr’s other lineup decisions, Haliburton’s willingness to accept a role in which he barely played proved fairly valuable to Team USA.
Haliburton played well for Team USA at the 2023 FIBA World Cup, averaging an efficient 8.6 points and 5.6 assists per game. He is an ascending NBA All-Star with a FIBA-friendly, pass-first style. His bench-warming role may pay dividends for him on Team USA down the line. Four years from now, when most of Team USA’s older players have likely retired from Olympic duty, Haliburton will likely be up for a bigger role on the team. For now, though, Haliburton is happy to have just gotten an “A” on his group project.