The USA Basketball Men’s Selection Committee has been under fire for selecting Derrick White over 2024 Finals MVP Jaylen Brown for the Paris Olympics-bound USA team. White wasn’t a part of the original squad but was selected as an injury replacement for Kawhi Leonard. Brown later alleged that he was snubbed from the Team USA Squad because of his criticism of the team’s sponsor, Nike.
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Meanwhile, Team USA’s managing director Grant Hill argued that Nike had nothing to do with Brown’s exclusion. White was picked ahead of his Boston Celtics teammate because the former’s style aligned with the needs of the current roster. Recently, veteran NBA mind Austin Rivers co-signed Hill’s argument.
He alluded to White’s complementary skillset, that is marked by his strictly off-the-ball game, to substantiate his argument. The off-guard focuses on efficiency rather than volume.
Rivers labeled White as a better spot-up shooter than Jayson Tatum, which is one of the reasons why Team USA HC Steve Kerr has preferred him over the three-time All-NBA player.
“Derrick White only knows how to play off the ball, Derrick White only knows how to play with limited shots. Derrick White is a better spot-up shooter than Jayson Tatum. That’s why Derrick White plays.”
Apart from that, Rivers pointed out that an Olympic squad can’t just be stacked with multiple one-on-one scorers. He cited the example of the 2004 Olympics team that only had iso scorers like, Stephon Marbury, Allen Iverson, and Tracy McGrady. The team lacked a strong off-the-ball option which was their undoing in the end, resulting in just a bronze medal.
Since then, the selection committee has learned their lesson and they always make sure they include multiple role players around the superstars. Therefore, it is essential to have someone like White, who is one of the best “3 and D” options in the NBA. For Rivers, adding Brown would have made little sense as the team already has a bunch of ball-dominant players.
The former Los Angeles Clippers guard acknowledged that Brown is a better overall player than White, but Team USA needed something else. Therefore, Rivers doesn’t consider Brown’s omission as a slight on the 2024 Finals MVP.
The 31-year-old added,
“Is Derrick White better than Jaylen Brown? No, we know this. Is Derrick White going to be a better fit for the USA Team than Jaylen Brown? Absolutely.”
But Jaylen Brown wouldn’t be satisfied with this logic. He has not backed down from his original position about Nike’s influence in the team selection.
The ruckus around his snub stems from the fact that he was arguably the best player in the 2024 playoffs but still got overlooked. For many, it was a bad look for the league to exclude the superstar-level player.
However, the official squad was announced in April, much before Brown’s heroics. White was mulled as a replacement player around that time as well. So Jaylen Brown was never in their original plans anyway.
