Team USA benchwarmer basks in Olympic gold

Haliburton compared himself to a slacker on a group project who “still gets an A” after not really participating. That described Haliburton’s time at the Olympics, where the All-Star point guard mostly sat behind other point guards Stephen Curry, Jrue Holiday and Derrick White.

He played in only three of Team USA’s six games, averaging 2.7 points and 0.7 assists. It’s not an indictment of Haliburton’s talents as much as it was an issue of duplication. Haliburton has a lot in common with Curry, in terms of shooting, passing and ball-handling ability — but he’s not Curry.

Should an injury happen, should Team USA need more shooting, Haliburton was there. Those hypothetical issues didn’t arise, so Haliburton cheered on his teammates, waved a towel on the bench and quietly collected a gold medal.

It’s a marked contrast to Jayson Tatum, who also duplicated many of the skills of veteran forwards LeBron James and Kevin Durant. When Durant returned from injury, Tatum sat, which set off a cataclysm of hot takes that included a complaint from Tatum’s mom.

But Tatum ended up contributing two points to the gold-medal win. While he didn’t make much of an impact, Tatum gets the same gold medal as Haliburton, Curry, Durant and James.

This is likely the last Olympics for many Team USA veterans. In 2028, Haliburton and Tatum are going to need to add a lot more to the group project if the U.S. is going to hold off rivals like France and Serbia. Haliburton’s positive attitude suggests he’s ready to earn an “A” on his own merits.