The war of words between Team USA director Grant Hill and Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown went to another level after Hill tried to dismiss Brown’s claims that Olympic sponsor Nike had anything to do with him being left off the Olympic team.
After Hill went on The Dan Patrick Show and called Brown’s thoughts on being left off Team USA because of past criticism of Nike a “conspiracy theory” — he repeated the term twice — Brown answered back on his X account on July 28.
“Grant Hill calling me a conspiracy theorist is disappointing,” Brown wrote. “I’ve been a VP since I was 21 years old I have a great understanding.”
Brown was elected as the NBA Players Association Vice President in 2019, becoming the youngest NBPA Vice President in history.
Brown is coming off his first NBA championship in 2024 after he was named Eastern Conference Finals MVP and NBA Finals MVP.
Examining Beef Between Hill, Brown
The beef between Hill and Brown seemingly began when Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard‘s knee injury forced him to leave Team USA during the warmup to the Olympics and he was replaced with Brown’s teammate, Celtics guard Derrick White, instead of Brown.
Brown openly questioned if his past criticism of Olympic sponsor Nike and its business practices led to him being left off the roster in favor of White, a two-time NBA All-Defensive Team selection.
“I spoke to his agent. I don’t know if that was before or after things went out on Twitter, but yeah, I think this idea that there’s a conspiracy theory,” Hill said on The Dan Patrick Show. “I always love a good conspiracy theory, but it was really truly a basketball decision and these are tough decisions. But having gone through this with the FIBA competition, you want to find the right balance and the right pieces on the court that we needed.”
For Everyone Under 30: Explaining Grant Hill
Modern basketball fans know who Brown is — he’s one of the NBA’s biggest stars and signed a 5-year, $304 million contract extension in July 2023 that was the largest contract in NBA history at the time.
Hill might need more of an explainer for anyone under about 30 years old. He was a two-time NCAA national champion at Duke, where he was on one end of arguably the most famous play in college basketball history when he threw an inbounds pass 3/4 of the court to Christian Laettner, who hit a last-second shot to beat Kentucky in the 1992 Elite Eight.
The Detroit Pistons selected Hill No. 2 overall in the 1994 NBA Draft and he was one of the biggest stars in the NBA until a series of ankle injuries derailed his career — at the time his 7-year, $92.8 million contract signed with the Orlando Magic in 2000 was the biggest in NBA history.
Hill, the son of Dallas Cowboys running back Calvin Hill, played 13 seasons in the NBA and was a 7-time All-Star and 5-time All-NBA pick. He also won an Olympic gold medal with Team USA in 1996.
After his NBA career was owner, Hill has had arguably as much success as an investor — he became the co-owner of the Atlanta Hawks in 2015 and is also the co-owner of the Baltimore Orioles, the Orlando Pride in the MLS and the NWSL’s Orlando City FC.
Hill has been the managing director of Team USA Basketball since 2021.
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