Jaylen Brown has been constantly in the line since winning his first NBA championship and being named Finals MVP.
The Celtics star has kept NBA Twitter’s attention alive during the hottest days of the offseason, sparking some controversy after being left off the Team USA roster for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Once Boston teammate Derrick White was selected as an injury replacement for Kawhi Leonard, Brown took to X with a cryptic emoji tweet to hint at his disappointment at not being selected.
Hours later, he continued to express his displeasure with USA Basketball’s decision. Brown criticized Nike (the U.S.’s primary apparel brand for the Olympics) and suggested that his history with the Swoosh logo influenced the decision to leave him off the team.
USA Basketball executive director of basketball Grant Hill responded to Brown’s comments ahead of the team’s first preseason game against Canada. He didn’t mention Brown by name, but Hill stressed how difficult it is to narrow down the U.S.’s deep talent pool to just 12 players.
The next night, Brown was at the ESPYs to accept his award for “Best Championship Performance.” On the pre-show red carpet, the Celtics star was in disbelief at Hill’s response.
“One day I will share my story. People don’t have all the information in the world that they would like to know.” he said before showing the Larry O’Brien trophy.
“I’m not afraid of you or your resources” tweeted the next day in another cryptic message before sparking another Team USA conversation on social media moments later.
Jaylen Brown sees Anthony Edwards as Team USA’s No. 1 choice
Putting aside the argument over the Brown snub, the bigger conversation surrounding Team USA is who should be the No. 1 option on a loaded roster.
There are veterans like Kevin Durant, LeBron James and Stephen Curry who have been the go-to players for every team they have played for. There are also young superstars like Anthony Edwards and Jayson Tatum who have proven themselves as two of the best players in the NBA today.
Edwards, as expected, had no qualms about stating that I felt like I was the number one option on Team USA. Despite the talent that surrounds him.
Brown backed up Edwards’ confidence, commenting “option #1” with the 100 emoji underneath the Timberwolves star’s post featuring photos of him playing for Team USA.
“Option #1 ?”
Jaylen Brown praises Anthony Edwards ?
(through @theantedwards_ / I G) photo.twitter.com/ONpnVbjlf9
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) July 12, 2024
Browns’ comment, of course, caused a stir considering he now has three teammates on Team USA: Tatum, White and Jrue Holiday.
It is unclear what Brown meant by his message. It is possible that he was simply trying to further fuel the debate as he has done in recent days.
It’s also worth noting that Edwards hails from Atlanta, Georgia, just like Brown. Perhaps the Celtics star was simply showing a little extra support for a local product he’d praised highly in the past.
Regardless of Brown’s intentions, he surely has NBA fans captivated with his every move right now.
