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Jaylen Brown made some cryptic social media posts last week that pointed to Nike’s potential involvement in his Celtics teammate Derrick White getting picked for the U.S. men’s Olympic team over him (“Im not afraid of you or your resources,” he posted Thursday). On Monday night, he doubled down.
“I do for sure,” Brown said in reference to whether he thinks Nike played a part in the decision. “There will be more stuff to come with that. As of now, I’m not gonna comment on it.”
The 2024 NBA Finals MVP gave his thoughts while in Las Vegas to watch a Celtics Summer League game alongside his girlfriend, Kysre Gondrezick, and her former Chicago Sky teammate Angel Reese.
Brown made it clear that he was happy for his Nike-signed teammate, whom he said he called “right away” when he heard the news.
“I wasn’t surprised, but my reaction was that I was happy for D-White. It’s dope to have so [many] of our guys on there, so I was happy for those guys. But I wasn’t surprised,” Brown said. “Me and D-White are good.”
White was chosen for the team to replace Kawhi Leonard, and he is the only player on the roster who has never been an NBA All-Star. He will join fellow Celtics Jayson Tatum and Jrue Holiday in Paris.
Brown, who hasn’t had a shoe deal since his contract with Adidas expired in 2021, has publicly criticized Nike when it came to the company’s fallout with Kyrie Irving. This past season, he’s worn Nikes, Irving’s Antas, and even Nikes without the swoosh logo.
Brown isn’t the first to accuse Nike of meddling in the Olympic selection process. The Kenyan marathon team, one of the fastest in the world, has faced criticisms in several recent Olympics for Nike athletes making the team over more qualified runners. The company sponsors Athletics Kenya, the national federation which makes the selections.
A spokesperson for Nike did not immediately respond to Front Office Sports’ request for comment.
