Is it Related to Nike? Brown Publicly Questions if His Omission from the USA Basketball Roster is a Nike Setup

On July 11, Jaylen Brown, the Celtics’ dual MVP, posted on social media questioning whether his exclusion from the USA Basketball roster was related to sportswear brand Nike. He tagged Nike’s official account and wrote, “Was this your doing?” It’s understood that after Leonard withdrew from the roster, USA Basketball added Derrick White as a replacement, yet Brown, who had an outstanding season, was overlooked, leaving him perplexed. His teammate Tatum made the 12-man roster, while Brown, as an MVP recipient, did not get a chance. In fact, reviewing Brown’s longstanding conflict with Nike, early on, Brown chose not to sign with Nike but instead partnered with Adidas. After his contract expired in 2021, Brown still did not choose Nike, nor did he sign with any other sports brands. Following Nike’s clear separation from Irving, Brown tweeted, questioning, “When did Nike start caring about its morals?” Therefore, Brown blaming Nike for his omission from the USA Basketball team isn’t without precedent. Interestingly, USA Basketball General Manager Grant Hill, in an interview, addressed Jaylen Brown’s post hinting that his exclusion from the USA Basketball team might be related to Nike. He said, “For most of my career, I wore Fila. This was meant as a joke. Obviously, we’re proud of our partners. It’s about building a team. You have to build a team. One of the hardest things is removing people I like from the list, whom I look forward to seeing throughout the season, throughout the playoffs. They are Finals MVPs, they are part of this program, they won gold medals. People I respect, appreciate, and enjoy watching. But my responsibility is to build a team, a complementary team. Whatever theories there are outside, those are just theories.” During the 2023-24 season, Brown played 70 games for the Celtics, averaging 23 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game.