Jaylen Brown has accomplished a lot during his NBA career, but one thing he's missing is donning the red, white and blue at the Olympics.
The Celtics forward entered the league in 2016 and was considered for both the 2020 and 2024 USA men's basketball teams. Playing for his country on the biggest stage is something the 27-year-old expressed interest in ahead of the 2023-24 NBA season.
"Playing for USA Basketball, I think there is no greater honor," Brown said. "... Being able to participate would be very cool."
Brown didn't make the initial team for the 2024 Paris Games, but there was an opening after Kawhi Leonard withdrew from the Olympics. Brown's Celtics teammate Derrick White took that spot instead, prompting Brown to post a cryptic message on X, formerly Twitter.
Here's what Brown said after White was Leonard's replacement.
MORE: Why Derrick White is a perfect replacement for Kawhi Leonard
Jaylen Brown cryptic tweet after Derrick White news
Brown was a natural candidate to replace Leonard, but USA Basketball quickly chose White. Fans had little time to debate who should get that final roster spot — White was immediately rumored to be the leading candidate for the opening.
Brown, a three-time All-Star and 2023-24 Finals MVP, posted a cryptic message on X after news broke that White was the replacement.
🧐🧐🧐
— Jaylen Brown (@FCHWPO) July 10, 2024
Brown didn't offer any words nor did he follow up on his post. He left the NBA world with just the three emojis in his post.
It's not confirmed that Brown was referencing USA Basketball's decision, so it could be a coincidence. Brown may have been posting about something unrelated, but the timing is spot on for this to be about White's nomination.
USA Basketball announced White's addition to the roster at 12:00 p.m. ET. Brown's tweet came at 12:08 p.m. It was only Brown's fourth tweet in the month of July.
Any cryptic social media message from athletes gets attention, but this one has another layer considering White and Brown are teammates on the Celtics. The two won a championship together less than a month ago.
MORE: Why Derrick White isn't a good replacement for Kawhi Leonard
Jaylen Brown vs. Derrick White stats
Stats don't tell the whole story, but here's how the two Celtics compared during the 2023-24 season:
| Jaylen Brown | Stat | Derrick White |
| 23.0 | PPG | 15.2 |
| 5.5 | RPG | 4.2 |
| 3.6 | APG | 5.2 |
| 1.2 | SPG | 1.0 |
| 0.5 | BPG | 1.2 |
| 2.4 | TOV | 1.5 |
| 49.9% | FG% | 46.1% |
| 35.4% | 3-PT% | 39.6% |
| 70.3% | FT% | 90.1% |
| 33.5 | MPG | 32.6 |
| 70 | Games | 73 |
| All-Star, NBA champion, Finals MVP | Accolades | All-Defensive second team, NBA champion |