Team USA took to the court for the first time ahead of the Olympics on Wednesday evening – and there was drama along the way.
In front of former President Barack Obama, Steve Kerr’s team played Canada in the first of five warm-up games before they arrive in Paris.
An 86-72 win was the ideal start to preparations and while Kerr’s starting five is likely to be the subject of much speculation in the days ahead, he took the opportunity to give almost everyone time on the court.
The exit of Kawhi Leonard, the arrival of Derrick White and the absence of Jaylen Brown that had fans talking.
On the court, the link up between LeBron James and Steph Curry had fans drooling with both men beginning the game alongside Joel Embiid, Jrue Holliday and Devin Booker.
That left Kevin Durant, Anthony Edwards and Jayson Tatum – among others – on the bench.
There was also a change to the squad heading to Paris as Kawhi Leonard’s injury issues meant that he was not going to play a part.
When it became clear that a replacement for Leonard was, many people thought it would be a Boston Celtic that would get the call up.
After a championship winning season, Celtics stars Jayson Tatum and Jrue Holliday were already on the roster and Brown was a surprise absentee.
However when a spot opened up again, it was Brown’s teammate White that was given the call-up – a move that left Brown just a little frustrated and even questioning who was actually running the team.
In an X post later deleted, Brown said ‘@nike this what we doing ?’ which followed a post that had three monocle emojis
Brown has just secured a new contract with the Celtics, and his performances across the season saw him named to the NBA’s All-Defensive second team for the second successive season, but Brown’s credentials might be even stronger.
USA Team Manager Grant Hill initially kicked off his media availability by making a joke about the fact he wore, and signed, a lifetime deal that wasn’t with Nike.
“For a good portion of my career, I wore Fila,” he said when asked about Brown’s post. “That was supposed to be a joke, didn’t play right.
“One of the hardest things is leaving people off the roster that I’m a fan of, that I look forward to watching throughout the season, throughout the playoffs,
“Guys who’ve been Finals MVP, guys who have been a part of the program, guys who’ve won gold medals. Guys who I respect, admire and enjoy watching. But the responsibility that I have is to put together a team and a team that complements each other.”
Brown has not hidden his desire to play for his country, previously saying: “Playing USA basketball, I think there’s no greater honor. Playing for your country is definitely, coming from my community.
“Coming from where I come from coming from where majority of out demographic come from, having an opportunity to represent that, your community, and the people that support you, I think that is a part of it as well.”
The US team and it’s array of superstars has already been compared to the Dream Team of 1992, and while James is back chasing a third gold medal, it is Curry’s first Olympics.
They begin against Nikola Jokic and Serbia on Saturday July 28, and also face Puerto Rico and South Sudan in the group stage before the knockout stages and medal matches.
News Summary:
- Jaylen Brown’s social media posts hijack Team USA’s start to Olympics preparations and prompt strange response from management
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