Kevin Durant's Olympics return forces hilarious rotation change NBA Twitter loves

Team USA began the 2024 Summer Olympics on a positive note, squashing Nikola Jokic and the Serbian National Team, 110-84. It was a hard-fought battle out of the gate and Serbia played the U.S. to a draw during Jokic's 31 minutes on the floor. Team USA won by a 26-point margin during the nine minutes Jokic sat, however, securing what will go down as a dominant victory in the history books.

There were several standout performers for the U.S. squad. LeBron James dropped 21 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists on 9-of-13 shooting. Jrue Holiday scored 15 points on eight shots and supplied his standard lockdown services on defense. Devin Booker scored 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting from 3-point range.

And yet, the true standout was Team USA's 10th man — Kevin Durant.

Steve Kerr tread carefully in Durant's first game back from a calf strain, the same injury that precipitated his heartbreaking Achilles tear in the 2019 NBA Finals. Durant was the 10th man off the bench, but he was far from an afterthought. In fact, Durant was the star of the show, building on his historic Olympics resumé with a near-perfect outing.

Durant scored 23 points on 8-of-9 shooting, including five made 3s on five attempts. He didn't need time to build up a rhythm. He wasn't out of sorts after a couple weeks on the pine. Durant looked right at home, stabilizing the Team USA offense and burying a feisty Serbian squad.

Better yet, Durant's return to the lineup forced Kerr to cut somebody from the 10-man rotation. Tyrese Haliburton was bench-warming and cheerleading, a role he took pride in. Jayson Tatum, however, looked none too thrilled about his place on the Team USA sideline, where he spent all 40 minutes of Sunday's game.

Folks, Twitter (X, whatever) can be an inhospitable and brutal hellscape. But sometimes, we get to experience these special moments collectively, and something truly beautiful and profound happens. This is one of those days.

NBA Twitter reacts to Team USA benching Jayson Tatum against Serbia

Please behold some of the best tweets I've seen in a while. With all due respect to the Boston Celtics fanbase, we deserve this after that title run. Somebody has to take the Celtics down a peg.

What a glorious time on that cursed app. After the game, Steve Kerr said Tatum will "make his mark" eventually, citing Durant's reintegration as the primary reason for Tatum's DNP. So, worry not Celtics fans. Tatum is going to see the floor at some point.

There is no shame in picking up DNP-CDs for such a loaded Team USA roster, of course. Tatum is losing minutes to all-time greats and the best perimeter defenders on the globe. Still, I am partial this Shea Serrano theory.

We've already endured the Jaylen Brown controversy, when the reigning Finals MVP sent out a series of cryptic tweets after Derrick White — his own teammate — was named as Kawhi Leonard's replacement on the U.S. roster. With both Tatum and Brown feeling disrespected, we are either heading toward an all-time Celtics meltdown or another front-to-back dominant campaign from the NBA's best team.

Only time will tell. This is mostly about jokes, a way to keep ourselves entertained while Team USA runs through the Olympic field like a buzzsaw. But, let's all take a moment to really savor these jokes. We don't get to pour cold water on the Celtics' parade often enough, if you ask me. Let's all keep Bill Simmons in our thoughts and prayers tonight.