Speaking in a chat with reporters this week, Team USA President Grant Hill explained why they have consistently looked over Jaylen Brown as an addition to the roster. According to Hill, it has nothing to do with his affiliation (or lack thereof) with Nike. Rather, it was all for the sake of basketball.
“You get 12 spots, and you have to build a team,” Hill said. “And one of the hardest things is leaving people off the roster that I’m a fan of that I look forward to watching throughout the season, throughout the playoffs,” said ESPN’s Tim Bontemps. “Guys who’ve been, um, Finals MVPs, guys who’ve been a part of the program, guys who’ve won gold medals, guys who I respect, admire and enjoy watching. But the responsibility that I have is to put together a team and a team that complements each other, a team that fits a team that will give us the best opportunity for success. And, so, whatever theories that might be out there, they’re just that. But that’s, that’s my responsibility. And it’s tough. It’s tough to have conversations and tell people that they’re not on the team. I’m trying to win and I’m trying to put together the right pieces that fit and give us a chance to win.”
USA Basketball’s Grant Hill on Jaylen Brown’s posts apparently suggesting Nike was behind his Olympic snub: “For a good portion of my career, I wore Fila. That was supposed to be a joke. We’re proud of our partners, obviously. … This is about putting together a team.” pic.twitter.com/Oh7LvSaUCW
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) July 11, 2024
Grant Hill, a former 3rd overall pick, is a 7x All-Star and 5x All-NBA player. After 18 years in the NBA, he now acts as the man in charge of Team USA basketball which is still in the middle of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
Team USA is no stranger to making tough decisions. With so many talented American players who are eligible, they often have to turn away some of the best and most well-accomplished athletes in the game to build the best team possible.
This year, the barrier to entry was already so high given the sheer amount of historic legends on the team, including LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Joel Embiid. 2x champion Kawhi Leonard was also in this group until he dropped out and left a roster spot available for the taking.
As the MVP of the Eastern Finals and the Finals, Jaylen Brown is more than qualified to make the cut, especially coming off a championship season where he averaged 23.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game on 49% shooting.
And yet, somehow, Brown was overlooked once again in favor of Derrick White. Brown seemed surprised by the news and he even called out Nike to address the situation. But according to Grant Hill, Brown’s loyalties have nothing to do with making the final cut.
It seems that Jaylen’s skills just aren’t impressive enough for the US national team and it’ll be up to him to prove them wrong and remind everyone why he’s worthy of being recognized as one of the NBA’s elites.
Now, he can use this snub as the latest bit of fuel and as proof of the doubters who questioned his game. Of course, if Team USA ends up losing the gold medal, they might come to regret not picking up Jaylen Brown (one of the best two-way wings in the league) when they had the chance.
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