Stephen A. Smith fires back at Jaylen Brown after Team USA loss originally appeared in NBC Sports Boston
Jaylen Brown opened the door Wednesday and Stephen A. Smith walked in happily.
After Team USA tagged Boston Celtics guard Derrick White as Kawhi Leonard’s replacement for your 2024 Paris Olympics team, Brown reacted with two social posts suggesting he was upset about not getting the call and that Nike – Team USA’s jersey sponsor – played a role in his snub.
Brown has criticized Nike in the past, calling the company in 2022 after founder Phil Knight reprimanded Kyrie Irving for sharing an anti-Semitic film on social media. And while USA Basketball chief administrative officer Grant Hill denied that Brown’s fight with Nike had anything to do with Brown’s omission from the lineupSmith clearly felt otherwise with a strong message to Brown on Twitter/X.
Do you believe me now? Hey @FCHWPO, do I need to reveal my sources now? Isn’t it obvious now? How the hell can a $300 million man – now a champion and NBA Finals MVP – who is clearly one of the two best players in the world @celtics and a Top-15 player in the world NOT chosen for Team USA? Because he… https://t.co/IeGFr8ypJb
-Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) July 11, 2024
“Do you believe me now?” Smith wrote. “Hey @FCHWPO, do I need to reveal my sources now? Isn’t it obvious now?
“How the hell did a $300 million man – now a champion and NBA Finals MVP – who is clearly one of the top two players on the @celtics and one of the top 15 players in the world, NOT get picked for Team USA? B /c his NOT teammate named Tatum was selected before him?
There is an additional story here: On May 26, Smith stated in ESPN’s first take that an “NBA source” told him that Brown “is not liked because of his I’m-better-than-you attitude” and “is not as marketable as he should be.” Brown shot Smith later that day, posting “Indicate your source” on Twitter/Xthen trolled ESPN personality at Celtics victory parade wearing a t-shirt with the same message.
However, Smith apparently feels Brown’s snub of Team USA — and the subsequent backlash — validated his original point.
Brown has a very similar skill set to Leonard and has experience playing for the USA national team at the 2019 FIBA World Cup, so his omission is a bit complicated. On the other hand, the U.S. is loaded with offensive talent, so perhaps Hill simply felt the team needed a player like White who could provide excellent defense and ball movement and be comfortable in a limited role.
Team USA won its exhibition opening in Canada on Wednesday and will travel to Abu Dhabi to face Australia on Monday, with White expected to make his debut there.
