Boston Celtics shooting guard, Jaylen Brown, has been a hot topic for many weeks now. However, he is in the news lately for being left off the Team USA roster. Team USA recently replaced Kawhi Leonard with his teammate, Derrick White. This certainly raised some eyebrows considering Brown is the second star on the Celtics and recently won the Finals MVP. Still, the two-way guard is harboring no ill-will towards his teammate, but does blame the company, Nike, for leaving him off the roster.
“I wasn’t surprised, but my reaction was that I was happy for D (Derrick) White,” Brown said. “It’s dope to have so much of our guys on there, so I was happy for those guys. But I wasn’t surprised.”
“I do for sure,” Brown said when asked if he believes Nike influenced the decision. “There will be more stuff to come with that. As of now, I’m not gonna comment on it.”
Jaylen Brown has been critical of Nike in the past. It is also interesting that White is a Nike sponsored athlete and received Leonard’s spot on Team USA.
Jaylen Brown Blames Nike for Being Snubbed From Team USA Roster
Jaylen Brown Still Happy for Teammate, Derrick White
There are no hard feelings between the two Boston teammates. Brown was adamant that he was happy for White when asked about his selection to Team USA.
“I called Derrick right away,” Brown said. “Just to make sure there’s no confusion, my love for you and all of that. He knew that. Me and D-White are good.”
Derrick White is coming off one of his best years of his career and was an instrumental role player in Boston’s title run.
A Terrific Year for the Reigning NBA Finals MVP
One can see why Jaylen Brown is a little upset about being snubbed off of Team USA. Not only did he win Finals MVP, but he was also a terrific co-star for Jayson Tatum this past season. Brown is coming off a campaign where he averaged 23.0 points, 1.2 steals, 5.5 total rebounds per game, and an effective field goal percentage of 55.7 percent. He also logged a career-best offensive rating of 113 this past season to go along with a true shooting percentage of 58.0 percent. After the season Jaylen Brown had, it is a bit head-scratching that he is not on Team USA. Especially after how vital he was in the postseason.
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