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Jaylen Brown Reveals Honest Reaction to Team USA Picking Celtics Teammate Derrick White Over Him for Paris Olympics
Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown suggested on Monday that he wasn't surprised by Team USA snub, but he also let people know he’s happy for teammate Derrick White.
Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown said he “wasn’t surprised” by USA Basketball’s decision to leave him off the squad for the Paris Olympics to fill the gap left by Kawhi Leonard. Instead, Team USA went for Derrick White. He also suggested that Nike, a key sponsor of USA Basketball, influenced the decision.
“I do for sure,” Brown, the 2024 NBA Finals MVP, said Monday night in Las Vegas when asked if he believes the company influenced the decision, via Athletic. He added that there’s more “stuff” to come, and for now, he would not comment on any of it.
Jaylen Brown wasn't surprised by the Team USA snub but he’s happy for Derrick White
While he does think there's more to the decision than meets the eye, Brown is happy for teammate Derrick White. Speaking to Jared Weiss of The Athletic, Brown congratulated Derrick White and his other Celtics teammates who made it to the team, but clarified that he wasn’t surprised by USA Basketball's decision.
"I wasn't surprised, but my reaction was that I was happy for D. White," Brown said. "It's dope to have so much of our guys on there, so I was happy for those guys. But I wasn't surprised."
Brown told reporters that he called Derrick right away. He said that the call was intended to clear up any doubt regarding his love for his colleague. Jaylen Brown then went on to explain that Derrick, or D-White, as he affectionately refers to his teammate, and him are good.
White was chosen as the Team USA replacement for Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard after USA Basketball seemingly wasn't comfortable with Leonard's recovery progress from a knee injury suffered during the NBA playoffs.
Two other Celtics players, Jayson Tatum and Jrue Holiday, were also chosen to represent the U.S. at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
It makes sense why Team USA would want three players from the reigning NBA champions on the roster. However, Brown's snub is perhaps more surprising to fans than it is to himself since he was both the Eastern Conference Finals and NBA Finals MVP.
READ MORE: Jaylen Brown Loses NBA Championship Ring During Celtics Parade; Offers Big Reward For Safe Return
Jaylen Brown blames Nike for his Team USA snub
While White is a great glue player who will fit in well on the USA basketball roster, Brown certainly deserved a spot after leading the Celtics to an NBA championship and earning MVP honors in both the NBA Finals and Eastern Conference Championship.
He pointed to Nike -- one of Team USA's main sponsors -- as a factor in the snub and said on Monday that he believes the company was involved in his being left off the team.
After White was chosen as Leonard's Team USA replacement, Brown made two posts on X, where he seemed to blame Nike for keeping him off the team.
Brown spent his first five NBA seasons as an Adidas athlete, but he hasn't represented a specific shoe brand since his Adidas contract expired in 2021. Per Kyle Irving of the Sporting News, Brown has primarily worn Nike's Kobe Bryant shoes since then, despite his apparent issues with the company.
In 2022, Brown posted, "Since when did Nike care about ethics?" on X after Nike ended its relationship with Kyrie Irving following the latter’s sharing of a link to a movie with antisemitic rhetoric.
Then, during the 2023-24 season, Brown began wearing Kobes with the Nike swoosh removed from the shoe.
Nike is responsible for tailoring Team USA's 2024 Olympic uniforms. Recently, Team USA men's managing director Grant Hill responded to Brown's comments, denying that Nike had anything to do with Brown not making the team.
Brown seems to have issues with Nike, but he's not letting that impact his relationship with his teammates -- particularly White, who played an integral role in the Celtics' 2024 championship run and just agreed to a four-year, $125.9 million contract extension with Boston.
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