Stephen A. Smith breaks his silence on Jaylen Brown's Olympics snub as ESPN host says it proves he's RIGHT about Boston Celtics star
- READ MORE: Kawhi Leonard withdraws from Team USA for Paris Olympics
- READ MORE: Jaylen Brown finds ring he lost at Celtics' Championship parade
Celtics star Jaylen Brown was passed over to replace injured Kawhi Leonard on Team USA in favor of Boston teammate Derrick White on Wednesday, prompting a self-congratulatory victory lap for ESPN's Stephen A. Smith.
'Do y'all believe me now?' Smith asked on X.
The two have been at odds since May, when Smith claimed he was told by a league source that Brown has an 'I am better than you' attitude, which has hurt him from a marketing standpoint.
As a result, Brown has repeatedly demanded Smith reveal his source, going so far as to wear a 'state your source' t-shirt during the Celtics' recent NBA championship celebration in Boston.
Naturally, Smith was eager to celebrate Brown's Olympic snub, which he portrayed as proof that he was right about the Celtics star's marketability problem.
Brown wore a 'state your source' t-shirt during the victory parade in reference to Smith
Stephen A. Smith used an anonymous source to voice criticism about Jaylen Brown in May
'Yo [Brown], do I need to reveal my sources now?' Smith asked on X. 'Is it not obvious now?'
To bolster his point, Smith pointed to the disconnect between Brown's five-year, $289 million contract and his inability to crack the Team USA roster.
'How in the hell is a $300M man — now a champion and an NBA Finals MVP— who's clearly a top-two player on the @celtics and a Top-15 player in the world, NOT chosen for Team-USA?' Smith continued.
'Come on y'all!!!'
Brown, however, appeared to think there was a different reason behind his exclusion from Team USA: Nike.
The Olympic team's official apparel partner has endorsement deals with nine of 12 players on the roster.
ESPN's Stephen A. Smith took another shot at Jaylen Brown on Wednesday evening
Leonard bowed out of the upcoming Olympics after battling injuries for much of the year
Not only does Brown not have a contract with Nike, but he's been critical of the brand in the past.
And following Team USA's decision to replace Leonard with White, Brown was once again critical of Nike.
'@nike this what we doing ?' Brown asked on X.
USA Basketball managing director Grant Hill pushed back against Brown's insinuation on Wednesday evening, while poking fun of his own history as a Fila spokesman.
'Well, for a good portion of my career, I wore Fila,' Hill laughed. 'We're proud of our partners, obviously at USA Basketball, but this is about putting together a team.'
So why did Hill pick White over the NBA Finals MVP?
The answer is pretty simple: He's a good fit with the current members of the team.
'I don't feel like his role changes much with our team from what he does with the Celtics,' Hill said. 'He plays alongside two incredibly great young players, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum.
'And this setting is hard when you come in and you're the center of your universe and now you have to establish a role and it might be different than what you have to do with your team. To have someone who can come in and play off of guys, be complementary to some others, but then also stand out ... we're excited.'
