It turns out Jaylen Brown didn't totally avoid the Team USA controversy at the 2024 ESPY Awards on Thursday night.
The Boston Celtics star gave Cam Newton a "no comment" on ESPN's red carpet show when asked about USA Basketball choosing Derrick White instead of himself to replace an injured Kawhi Leonard on the squad headed to the 2024 Paris Olympics.
But Brown -- who took home the ESPY for "Best Championship Performance" -- also did another red carpet interview with Sports Illustrated in which he was a little more forthcoming. Here's the exchange:
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Sports Illustrated: "How does it feel to have support from so many NBA fans who think you should be on Team USA?"
Brown: "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 would like to know."
Translation: Brown clearly believes there's more to his Team USA omission than White being a better "basketball fit."
Based on his social media activity, Brown views Nike (the official apparel sponsor of USA Basketball) as a primary reason he's not headed to Paris: The 2024 NBA Finals MVP posted "@nike this what we doing?" on Twitter/X shortly after White was named Leonard's replacement, then wrote "I'm not afraid of you or your resources" on the platform Thursday.
Brown has been critical of Nike in the past; when company founder Phil Knight chastised Kyrie Irving in 2022 for sharing an anti-Semitic film on social media, Brown responded by writing, "Since when did Nike care about ethics?" on Twitter/X. He's also worn Nike shoes with the iconic swoosh logo removed on several occasions, including Boston's Christmas Day game in 2023.
USA Basketball managing director Grant Hill denied that Nike had anything to do with Brown not making the roster, insisting that he and his Team USA staff have full autonomy over roster decisions. But it sounds like Brown believes there are larger forces at work, and that there's more the public doesn't know about regarding the squad's latest roster decision.
When Brown decides to share his "story" remains to be seen, but in the meantime, Team USA is headed to Abu Dhabi, where White is expected to join Celtics teammates Jayson Tatum and Jrue Holiday for the squad's next exhibition game on Monday.
