Fans in stitches as Jaylen Brown unfollows Team USA Basketball on X: "Him and Noah Lyles gonna be hate watching"
2023 NBA Finals MVP and Boston Celtics superstar Jaylen Brown has invited social media scrutiny after allegedly unfollowing the official Team USA Basketball X/Twitter account. The development comes after Brown was left out of a star-studded men’s basketball roster for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Despite a range of superstars being picked, along with Jaylen Brown’s teammates Derrick White and Jayson Tatum, the superstar’s NBA heroics weren't enough to warrant a Team USA call. Regardless, as one would expect, droves of fans responded to the news, with some finding parallels between Brown and sprinter Noah Lyles.
“Him and Noah lyles gonna be hate watching.”
Fans had plenty of responses, and a few were sympathetic to Brown:
“Can’t blame him after they did him dirty like that.”
“Bro still upset about that lmaooo. I mean I get it but bro at least your teammates got in.”
“Wonder what was da last straw.”
Some, as is often the case, merely found humor in the situation:
“Dude going down the rabbit hole.”
“He would rather play for Wakanda.”
While playing for Wakanda won't happen, Brown has every right to think about what else he could have done to be part of the Team USA roster.
Jaylen Brown’s omission from Team USA’s Roster at 2024 Paris Olympics is the biggest surprise
The 2023-24 NBA Finals win was not only Brown's first championship, it was also the Celtics’ first triumph since 2008. He played a major part in the victory, with 23 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists from an incredible season that was capped off with the NBA Finals MVP award. The Celtics beat the Dallas Mavericks to win the title.
While much has been made of the omission, former Team USA star Grant Hill had recently claimed that Brown’s absence is purely a "basketball decision."
"I spoke to his agent. I don't know if that was before or after things went out on Twitter, but yeah, I think this idea that there's a conspiracy theory. I always love a good conspiracy theory, but it was really truly a basketball decision and these are tough decisions. But having gone through this with the FIBA competition, you want to find the right balance and the right pieces on the court that we needed."
Brown responded to the above statement and said his understanding of the game shouldn't be questioned:
“grant hill calling me a conspiracy theorist is disappointing I’ve been a VP since I was 21 years old I have a great understanding.”
Brown will know he had a better season than many stars who were picked for the Team USA roster. The player had the most impressive season of his career and has every right to question the decision.