Jaylen Brown doesn't comment on Olympic snub before picking up ESPY for "Best Championship Performance"

BOSTON -- Jaylen Brown picked up another trophy on Thursday night, but the Celtics star refused to comment on his snub from the Paris Olympics before collecting his ESPY.

Brown was styling on the red carpet at the 2024 ESPYs in Hollywood on Thursday night, with his mom and dad and his date, Kysre Gondrezick, by his side. Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck and the Larry O'Brien Trophy were also there with Brown.

While he was making his way into the Dolby Theatre, Brown was asked by Cam Newton (yes, that Cam Newton) about being passed over for the Team USA roster after Kawhi Leonard bowed out earlier this week. But Brown had no interest in responding. 

"I don't really got no comment, you known what I mean," Brown told Newton. "I got my beautiful date right there, so."

Newton didn't give Brown much of chance to say much more, saying he was trying to "deflect" before moving on.

Brown later told Sports Illustrated that he's grateful for all the fan support surrounding his snub.

"It feels great to have support, and one day I'll share my story," "People don't have all the information in the world that they'd like to know. It just feels great to be here at the ESPYs and to be holding up the Larry O'Brien."

Team USA opted to replace Leonard with Brown's teammate in Boston, Derrick White. While White is an extremely talented two-way player and a great teammate, Brown is obviously the more talented player overall. The decision didn't sit well with Brown in the 48 hours following the announcement. 

Brown not only posted a cryptic message on X after the news broke, but he challenged Nike a short time later. But by Thursday, Brown was done talking about the matter.

Maybe Brown is ready to move on from the snub and file it away in his motivation bank. He had other business to tend to on Thursday anyways, collecting the ESPY for "Best Championship Performance" later in the evening.

Brown was named the NBA Finals MVP after he averaged 20.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 5.0 assists in Boston's five-game victory over the Dallas Mavericks. He also locked up Luka Doncic (who won the ESPY for Best NBA Player) on the defensive end throughout the series.

"Thank you ESPN. Thank you to my teammates, my organization, my beautiful mother -- who's mad at me," Brown said on stage after receiving the award, drawing a chuckle from the crowd.

It's not clear why his mom was mad at him in the moment, but all seemed well afterwards as Brown posted a photo of her from the evening to his Instagram story. 

The Celtics were also nominated for "Best Team" at the ESPYs, but lost out to the NCAA Women's Basketball champion South Carolina Gamecocks.

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• Boston Celtics
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