Everything might not be perfect in Boston after all.
While the Celtics won their NBA-best 18th title in June, one of the team’s stars posted a cryptic message on social media after a decision was made that was out of his hands.
After it was announced that superstar Kawhi Leonard was withdrawing from Team USA’s Olympic basketball competition, Celtics guard and fellow defensive whiz Derrick White was named as Leonard’s replacement.
Few seemed to bat an eye at the choice — except for his own teammate, Jaylen Brown.
On Wednesday afternoon, the reigning Finals MVP cryptically posted on X three monocle-clad emojis with no text.
During the 2023-24 regular season, Brown was strong yet again, earning a third All-Star nod by posting 23 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.2 steals per game.
Yet, the 27-year-old turned things up a notch in the postseason, averaging 23.9 points per game and accumulating four 30-plus-point games while winning Eastern Conference Finals and Finals MVP — marking the third straight year that a Conference Finals MVP also took home the Finals honor.
On the other hand, White’s regular-season numbers — 15.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game — seemed worse on the surface, but the 30-year-old posted more win shares than Brown.
Boston recognized the underrated merits of White by giving him a $125.9 million extension this offseason.
Headlined by LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, Team USA will break camp and begin its competition stage Wednesday night by taking on Canada in Las Vegas in a showcase event.
straight gold medal. Brian Prahl / SplashNews.com
The Olympic competition for the U.S. team is slated to begin against Serbia in Lille, France on July 28.
The Americans will look to win their fourth straight Gold medal in Curry’s Summer Games debut.