Never one to shy away from speaking out, 10-time NBA All-Star Carmelo Anthony has shared his thoughts on Boston Celtics swingman Jaylen Brown being left off of Team USA’s roster for the Paris Olympics.
Carmelo Anthony Speaks Out About Jaylen Brown-Team USA Snub
“I think (Brown) should’ve got a shot,” Anthony tells Podcast P with Paul George.
“For whatever reason it is (that he was left off the team), you can’t make it that obvious. This man busts his a**, he works hard, he takes everything that people say about him —he’s not marketable, he’s not this, he’s not that —and he go win a championship and do it the way he did it.
Jaylen Brown not getting a shot at making Team USA’s Olympic roster rubbed Melo the wrong way.@ATT pic.twitter.com/taqieLljua
— Podcast P with Paul George (@PodcastPShow) July 22, 2024
“How he don’t (sic) get a shot at the USA team? What you gonna tell me he don’t fit the style of play. At least give the respect like, ‘Yo you a champion.’ You won, you work, you played on this team before. You’re a part of Team USA. So it’s like if it’s something that’s personal… give him the opportunity…”
As Anthony says, calling for Brown to get a shot isn’t a shot at Derrick White.
Nonetheless, similar to the U.S. women’s national basketball team leaving off Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark, it doesn’t make the most sense. Clark’s case brings comments from USA women’s basketball director Briana Weiss into question, as Weiss said her exclusion was solely basketball-related (h/t Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files). If that was the case, Clark —the WNBA’s assist leader as a rookie—should’ve at least gotten a tryout.
Brown’s snub is even more of a head-scratcher.
As Anthony alluded to, he played spectacularly in the 2024 NBA Playoffs, winning the Eastern Conference Finals and NBA Finals MVP awards. Brown performed so well that Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd said he considers him their best player. To be passed over for not one of his teammates but three is ludicrous.
Derrick White Does Fit
Of course, White became a media sensation during the Celtics run to the NBA Finals as well.
With more eyes on him than ever, he showed himself to be among the best backcourt defenders in the NBA. His penchant for blocking shots and making clutch baskets even led to calls for him to be an All-Star. This is significant in part because White was averaging 15.6 points per game ahead of the All-Star Break. If he made the team, he’d have lowest pre-All-Star scoring average for an NBA All-Star since Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (7.9 points per game) in 2021-22.
That being said, many believe White’s focus on being part of a team’s connective tissue led to him being picked. With so many elite scorers on the roster, his heady playmaking allows him to fit smoothly into Team USA’s constellation.
Jaylen Brown Fits More
Yet, Team USA needed to replace Kawhi Leonard, whose skillset is more similar to Brown’s than White.
If they added Brown, perhaps the offense wouldn’t go through extensive lulls. To that point, the Georgia native has averaged 23.7 points per game over the past five seasons. Furthermore, with his length and defense, Team USA wouldn’t allow perimeter penetration so frequently.
Whether it’s because Brown isn’t a Nike athlete, or he was critical of the company after they dropped Kyrie Irving, or his religious beliefs, or people just believe he’s on a high horse, the purpose of Team USA assembling perhaps its most talented roster ever was to win a gold medal. If that’s the case, backroom politics shouldn’t have interfered. After three largely unimpressive pre-Olympic exhibition games, that’s more clear than ever.
