Team USA managing director Grant Hill has responded to critics who slammed him for excluding Jaylen Brown from the national men’s basketball team for the ongoing Paris Olympics.
Hill spoke about the matter on All The Smoke’s Open Run with Rachel Nichols to acknowledge this, and he said in the podcast that he will consider having Brown on Team USA for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
“One thing I’ve learned. You can’t take anything personal in this role,” Hill said. “And so, I haven’t personalized anything. My goal, my objective is to win. As soon as hopefully that happens, we pivot and start looking ahead to the future.”
“I’m confident that he and I will sit down at some point and talk about it and get to some level of understanding. He’ll be a candidate if he wants in ’28,” he added.
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Team USA had an open spot after Kawhi Leonard left training camp due to injuries. Jaylen Brown was expected to fill in, especially after winning the Eastern Conference Finals and Finals MVP in the Boston Celtics’ championship run last season. However, his teammate Derrick White was called up instead.
Team USA is two wins away from winning Olympic gold
The Americans are already through to the Olympic semifinals after routing Brazil 122-87 on Tuesday. They are up against Serbia, who defeated Australia in a 95-90 overtime thriller.
The winner between the United States and Serbia will face the winner between Germany and France. Germany made it to their first-ever Olympic semis with a 76-63 win against Greece, while France defeated Canada with a score of 82-73.
Team USA is the favorite to win it all because of their NBA-laden roster and because they are the four-time defending Olympic gold medalists.
