The Boston Celtics will be well-represented in Paris during the 2024 Olympics. Jayson Tatum, Jrue Holiday and Derrick White are the members of the team who were selected to compete on Team USA.
Star forward Jaylen Brown, coming off a Playoff run that ended with him being named Finals MVP, was left off the roster.
A Yahoo Sports article written by Jason Owens included a statement made by Team USA managing director Grant Hill regarding the challenge of building a roster.
"You've got 12 spots. You have to build a team. One of the hardest things is leaving people off the roster that I'm a fan of, that I look forward to watching. ... 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. Whatever theories that might be out there, they're just that."
A contributing factor to the decision not to include Brown on the roster could be his complicated relationship with Nike.
Nike is the outfitter of Team USA but athletes who represent other brands are included on its rosters. These athletes include Under Armor representatives such as Stephen Curry and Jordan representatives such as Tatum.
Brown was a representative of Adidas for the first five seasons of his career but that deal expired at the end of the 2021 season. Brown has been a shoe free agent for the past three seasons.