Jaylen Brown posts a cryptic message after being snubbed from Olympic team
BOSTON -- Given that Jaylen Brown is coming off a dominant playoff run where he helped lead the Celtics to an NBA championship, he was a pretty logical choice to replace Kawhi Leonard on the Team USA roster for this summer's Paris Olympics.
Alas, Brown has been snubbed again, as Team USA opted to go with his Boston teammate, Derrick White. Add some more fuel to Brown's fire.
While White is certainly worthy of a spot on Team USA thanks to an incredibly solid 2023-24 season and his all-around game, many basketball fans are wondering why Brown didn't get the call. Apparently, Brown is wondering that very same thing based on a cryptic (but not-so-cryptic) post on X shortly after the USMNT made the announcement.
Brown later fired off another post aimed at Nike, asking "this what we doing ?" to the show company. Brown has a history with Nike, which has a longstanding relationship with Team USA.
While Brown is likely happy for White, he's probably wondering what else he has to do to get a shot at Olympic gold. He was among the pool of 28 players that Team USA used to build its roster, but didn't crack the 12-man squad despite putting up some big numbers throughout Boston's title run and winning MVP of both the Eastern Conference Finals and the NBA Finals. That was understandable, given the absurd amount of talent selected for the team.
But once Leonard bowed out, Brown was an easy and logical replacement to slide into his role. They're both wings and they're both excellent defenders.
White is an excellent and versatile defender himself, and a player who doesn't need the ball to make an impact on offense. He's a good selection to replace Leonard. But Brown is coming off his best stretch of basketball, and has every right to feel slighted.
Snubs have always fueled the three-time All-Star. We saw that after he exploded in the playoffs following an All-NBA snub. Now, Brown has got a nice big chip on his shoulder heading into next season as he and the Celtics will look to repeat as NBA champs.
