Bam Adebayo was Team USA’s standout player in Wednesday’s group stage win over South Sudan, and ESPN’s Brian Windhorst provided some extra motivation.
Windhorst suggested on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Monday that he may bench Adebayo to counter Sudan’s strong wing play.
“South Sudan has a lot of athletic wings,” Windhorst said. “(Jason) Tatum will be there. They’ll have to play on the perimeter, so they’ll be switching all their screens. And then you might have a guy like Bam Adebayo on the bench…”
Adebayo clearly fought back, scoring a team-high 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting and adding two blocks in a 103-86 victory.
Immediately after his impressive performance, Adebayo quote-tweeted a clip of Windhorst’s remarks along with the infamous clip of rapper 50 Cent saying, “Why the hell did he say f**k me?”
However, Windhorst was on the right track, he just picked the wrong players.
While Adebayo starred, fellow big man Joel Embiid was benched.
Adebayo’s rebuttal marks the second time a player has voiced dissatisfaction with Windhorst’s coverage this Olympics.
Ahead of the group stage match between the United States and Serbia on July 28, Windhorst said Kevin Durant will likely miss the game.
2024 Paris Olympics
Rich Kleiman, Kevin Durant’s business partner, suggested in comments to The Washington Post that Windhorst might want to avoid making speculative statements.
Kleiman also criticized the move in a tweet that he later deleted.
“Just start reporting the facts,” Kleiman said. “Yes, he [Durant] I could have played in London. [against Germany] He will then play in the game against Serbia. He will do his best to return to Team USA and try to win a record fourth gold medal. He is already Team USA’s all-time leading scorer.”
Durant did play against Serbia and, like Adebayo, he shone brightly, making 8 of 9 shots and 5-for-5 perfect 3-pointers to score a team-high 23 points.
The U.S. next plays Puerto Rico on Saturday, its final group stage game before advancing to the single-elimination tournament.
