Jaylen Brown was recently snubbed from making it to the national team and the drama has just begun. JB took to Twitter right after White’s name was announced as a replacement for Kawhi. However, there is no hate towards Derrick White, in this case, but rather USA Basketball. Many questioned why Brown wasn’t picked as a replacement despite having the talents to compensate for Leonard’s absence, even better. He is also coming off a dominant postseason run, winning a Finals MVP along the way. But with everything said and done, it has left everyone wondering what could’ve been the reason behind this snub.

Stephen A. Smith expressed himself, as he posted an elaborative tweet on the situation. Now there is a history between Brown and Stephen A. During the playoff, Stephen A. went on to talk about how one of his sources revealed that Brown isn’t liked by the majority of his audience. However, after his recent rant on Twitter, JB got back to him saying, “Im not afraid of you or your resources”. Clearly, Brown isn’t happy with Team USA’s decision. Getting back at Stephen A. was one thing. Though Brown also called out Nike in regards to the current scenario.

At the end of the day, the management of the national basketball team, including Grant Hill had the decision in hand. Along with them, Nike is also a part of this team. Of course, now being the sponsor of the USAB team, Nike does have some say in the roster. But the real reason why Brown called out Nike has more to do with the past. And quite frankly, this also includes Kyrie’s controversy with Nike back in 2022. Jaylen called out Nike when the Swoosh decided to cut ties with Irving. Though this was only his opinion on the topic. Brown rocked Adidas till 2021 when his contract expired. JB has worn Kobes since then.

However, JB had the swoosh removed from the Kobes during the 2023-24 season. Of course, he can wear what he wants and customize his kicks to his liking, as long as he doesn’t have an endorsement deal. Now this may have been the reason why Nike neglected Brown as a candidate. That is if they had a legitimate say. But according to Grant Hill, his responsibility was just to put a team together where players would complement each other. Considering Brown’s past with Nike, it could be a possibility that the swoosh had some say in adding JB to the roster.

Jaylen Brown was more than qualified to replace Kawhi

Brown can do everything that Kawhi does. He can play solid defense, shoot triples, score inside the paint, and knows how to run plays. One could say that if Nike had any handle on the team, they would say against Brown. Now obviously, JB couldn’t rock the swoosh-less Kobes if he was to play in the Olympics. But him not being on the team concerns the Celtics front office as well. Yes, the Celtics did not have anything to do with USAB but when their three members return from Paris, the front office will have to address the scenario.

White on the other hand will look to give his all, playing the same role he did in Boston. Sadly, Jaylen Brown will have to sit this year out and hopefully look forward to the next  Olympics. It will be interesting to see how the Celtics manage this unfortunate snub on their behalf, as they look to avoid any issues in team chemistry. What are your thoughts on Brown’s situation? Do you think Nike prevented his candidature? Let us know in the comments.

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