Jaylen Brown didn’t want his unhappiness over being left off Team USA’s Olympic squad to be viewed as disrespect for teammate Derrick White.

He also had no qualms about blaming the team’s most prominent sponsor for his omission.

While addressing the media during Monday night’s Celtics Summer League game, Brown doubled down on the social media posts he penned after Team USA chose White, not him, to replace the injured Kawhi Leonard for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. He said he “for sure” believed Nike had a hand in that decision.

“I do for sure,” Brown told reporters in Las Vegas. “There will be more stuff to come with that. But as of now, I’m not going to comment on it.”

Brown is one of the few superstar-level NBA players without a shoe deal, having played as a sneaker free agent since his previous endorsement contract with Adidas expired in 2021, and he’s publicly criticized Nike for the company’s “ethics.”

The NBA Finals MVP wore Nike sneakers for most games this season, but with the footwear giant’s signature swoosh removed. Brown has “also been working behind the scenes for the past year on creating his own self-produced signature shoe,” according to a June report by footwear industry reporter Nick DePaula, a prototype of which he wore during the second half of the 2024 All-Star Game and at least one Finals shootaround.

After Team USA’s announcement, Brown tweeted: “@nike this what we doing?” In a cryptic follow-up post one day later, he wrote: “Im not afraid of you or your resources.”

Nike manufactures uniforms for several U.S. Olympic teams — including headliners like basketball and track and field — and podium apparel for all American medal-winners.

USA Basketball managing director Grant Hill said the decision to add White over Brown was simply basketball-related.

“The responsibility that I have is to put together a team, and a team that complements each other, a team that fits, a team that will give us the best opportunity for success,” Hill told reporters last week. “So whatever theories that might be out there, they’re just that.”

Brown insisted his negative reaction wasn’t a dig at White, who joined the Celtics in 2022 and was a key cog in their NBA championship run. He said he immediately reached out to White after hearing the news.

“Absolutely, I called Derrick right away,” Brown told reporters. “Just to make sure there’s no confusion (about) my love for you and all of that. He knew that, and he did. You don’t gotta make anything public, but me and D-White are good.”

Brown said he “wasn’t surprised” that he was not chosen to replace Leonard, who was sent home from Olympic training camp due to concerns about his injured knee. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported weeks earlier that White was the favorite to step in for Leonard if need be.

It’ll be the first Olympic appearance for the 30-year-old White, who previously represented the U.S. at the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup, and the second for fellow Celtics Jayson Tatum and Jrue Holiday. Boston players make up 25% of Team USA’s 12-man roster for the Paris Games, which begin later this month.

“I wasn’t surprised, but my reaction was that I was happy for D-White,” Brown told reporters. “It’s dope to have so much of our guys on there, so I was happy for those guys. But I wasn’t surprised.”

Whatever the reason, Brown plans to use his snub as extra motivation as the Celtics begin their title defense.

“I’m super fired up,” he said. “I’ve got all the motivation in the world to just come out and improve, so I love it, honestly.”