3x All-Star Claims Anthony Edwards Won’t Be Allowed to Be the Star on Team USA Because of Nike

Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards holds the distinction of being the youngest player on the star-studded US Men’s Basketball Team headed to the 2024 Paris Olympics. He’s the only player on the roster who was also part of Team USA’s embarrassing campaign at the 2023 FIBA World Cup, where they finished fourth. Therefore, the guard will be gunning for revenge. However, three-time NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas believes he won’t be afforded the opportunity due to his affiliation with Adidas.

The former Washington Wizards star recently shared his two cents about Team USA’s rotation at the Paris Olympics on his YouTube channel No Chill Gil. He claimed that Tyrese Haliburton, Jrue Holiday, Bam Adebayo, and Derrick White will be way down on the pecking order and likely won’t feature much.

Arenas also noted that many fans and analysts believe that Edwards will play a massive role in the competition, judging from his performances in the the 2024 playoffs and the 2023 World Cup. But the 42-year-old doesn’t think that’ll be the case. He said,

“I know everybody thinks Ant-Man (Anthony Edwards) is gonna be the starter. The go-to guy. But I can tell you this right now, that ain’t gonna happen… This is a Nike event and it has always been a Nike event. And other companies have to beg for their players to be on. So the MVP is gonna be a Nike player or a Jordan Brand player. It’s not gonna be an Adidas guy.”

Arenas added that Edwards would get his shine but eventually succumb to some “dumba*s subs.” Nike has been Team USA’s apparel sponsor since 2006. Nine of the 12 players on this year’s roster are Nike or Jordan Brand athletes.

Edwards, the face of Adidas basketball, Stephen Curry, who has been with Under Armour since 2013, and Joel Embiid, who signed a deal with Skechers in April, are the only exceptions.

Arenas also brought up Michael Jordan hiding the Reebok logo with a USA flag during the 1992 Olympics to substantiate his argument.

Arenas claimed that Nike is not only the apparel sponsor but also dictates who gets to feature prominently for Team USA at International events. However, he isn’t the only one who believes in this theory.

Jaylen Brown blames Nike for Olympic snub

After Team USA announced that Kawhi Leonard was withdrawing from the Olympic roster, many believed that Jaylen Brown would replace him. The Boston Celtics superstar would’ve been a good replacement positionally and also an apt choice after being named the Finals MVP.

However, to everyone’s astonishment, Team USA picked Brown’s teammate Derrick White as Leonard’s replacement. In a since-deleted post on X, the Celtics forward called out Nike, seemingly blaming the brand for his exclusion from the Olympic roster.

Brown had previously called out Nike for terminating Kyrie Irving’s contract after the then-Brooklyn Nets star promoted a film with alleged antisemitic content on his Instagram page. The Celtics star shared a post about the brand’s owner Phil Knight’s comments on the situation and asked, “Since when did Nike care about ethics?”

Grant Hill, the US Men’s Basketball Team’s managing director, laughed off reports that Nike played a role in Brown’s exclusion from the Olympic roster. However, it’s worth noting that Los Angeles Clippers President Frank Lawrence claimed that Team USA asked Leonard to withdraw from the team. He revealed that the forward was willing to play but management felt he wouldn’t be up to speed in Paris.

Leonard, a New Balance athlete, was replaced with White, who exclusively wears Nike shoes, ahead of Brown, who has publicly called out the team’s main sponsor in the past. While claims about Nike’s influence may just be a conspiracy theory, it certainly has some staunch believers.