It all depends on the shoes.
Celtics' 2024 NBA Finals MVP Jaylen Brown redoubled his recent accusations that Nike was to blame for him not being selected to the Olympic team.
With Kawhi Leonard out last week, his teammate Derrick White took the final spot on the team.
“Yeah, for sure. There's a lot more to come,” Brown said when asked about Nike dropping him from his team, as reported by CLNS. “I'm not going to comment on that right now.”
Considering Brown is one of the best players in the world, especially better than White, it's easy to argue he's the player most disregarded by the team.
The former California star posted two cryptic tweets after White joined the team, as well as one addressed directly to Nike, including one that read, “@nike is this what we do?”
He also tweeted three monocle emojis and the message, “I am not afraid of you or your resources.”
Nike is one of the sponsors of the U.S. team, but Brown does not have a shoe deal after choosing not to sign with any company after his contract with Adidas expired three years ago, according to ESPN.
According to The Athletic, the 27-year-old wore Nike shoes in June when the Celtics were in their championship hunt.
Brown previously criticized Nike following its feud with Kyrie Irving in 2022, tweeting, “Since when does Nike care about ethics?”
U.S. team executive director Grant Hill denied that Nike played a role in removing Brown from the national team.
“So whatever theories are out there, they're just that — theories. But they're on me. And that's tough,” Hill told ESPN. “It's tough to have those conversations and tell people that I'm not part of the team.”
“I'm looking to win and put the right pieces together that fit us and give us a chance to win.”
Brown believes Nike blocked him from competing for his country, but told reporters he wasn't surprised he wasn't selected.
He added that he had no dispute with Mr White.
“I called Derrick right away so there was no confusion about my love for you or anything like that,” Brown told reporters in Las Vegas, according to CLNS. “He knew about it and he did. You don't always have to make something public, but me and D. White get along well.”
