During last night’s game at TD Garden, Celtics fans made their displeasure with Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr abundantly clear.
As Kerr was introduced before the game, the crowd erupted in a chorus of boos, a reaction stemming from Kerr’s decisions during the 2024 Paris Olympics.
During last night’s game at TD Garden, Celtics fans made their displeasure with Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr abundantly clear. pic.twitter.com/6JpcjEn22n
— OpenCourt-Basketball (@OpenCourtFB) November 7, 2024
The animosity towards Kerr is rooted in his handling of Celtics star Jayson Tatum’s playing time during the Olympics. Tatum, who played a limited role in Team USA’s gold medal run, only saw 11 minutes of action in the championship game and didn’t play in either of the games against Serbia.
This decision left many Celtics fans feeling slighted, as Tatum is a key player for Boston and was coming off a stellar season. Kerr, who has no regrets about his choices, defended his decisions by pointing out the team’s success in winning the gold medal.
“We’re just committed to winning, and we won the gold medal,” Kerr said. “So I didn’t give it a whole lot of thought, other than I didn’t enjoy not playing Jayson against Serbia, not playing Joel (Embiid) against South Sudan. Those are not fun decisions, but our guys were all amazing. They committed to each other, they committed to winning the gold medal. They brought the gold home for their country.”
Despite Kerr’s explanation, the boos from the crowd were loud and persistent, showing that Celtics fans have not forgotten the Olympic snub. Tatum, for his part, has moved on from the experience, focusing on his current season with the Celtics.
In the end however, it was Kerr who ended up laughing, as the Golden State Warriors pulled off a thrilling 118-112 victory over the Boston Celtics, adding to their impressive streak to start the season.
Stephen Curry led the charge with an impressive 27-point performance, including 21 points in the second half to help the Warriors overcome a resilient Celtics team. This victory improves the Warriors’ record to 7-1, while the Celtics fall to 7-2.
As the Celtics and Warriors continue their rivalry, it will be interesting to see if this tension persists or if both sides can move past it.
