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Kalan Hooks, ESPN
Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown has interacted with the Swoosh once again on social media.
After Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo dropped 59 points — five short of his career high of 64 — and snagged 14 rebounds to lead the Bucks to a 127-120 overtime win over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday, Nike seemingly referenced the Celtics guard while praising Antetokounmpo’s performance.
Yall got weird energy https://t.co/f8DTuq2YCQ
— Jaylen Brown (@FCHWPO) November 14, 2024
Nike’s post was likely prompted by an interaction Brown and Antetokounmpo had Sunday. The Bucks star faked a handshake to Brown in the second quarter of Boston’s 113-107 win.
“Giannis is a child. … I’m just focused on helping my team get a win,” Brown said postgame.
When Antetokounmpo heard about Brown’s comments following the game, he said that the theatrics were centered on plain fun.
“We always joke around with the flow of the game,” Antetokounmpo said in response to Brown’s comments.
“It’s something that I do to my kids, I play around. This is who I am. I play the game with fun, joy.”
Brown’s social media history with Nike dates to when his former Celtics teammate and now Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving and the company parted ways in 2022 after the brand’s founder, Phil Knight, commented on the partnership termination.
“Kyrie stepped over the line, it’s kind of that simple, “Knight said. “He just made some statements we can’t abide by, and that’s why we ended the relationship.”
“Since when did Nike care about ethics?” Brown wrote, quote tweeting a post about the separation.
After the Celtics won the 2024 NBA Finals over the Mavericks, Brown released a record with rapper A$AP Ferg titled “Just Do It,” appearing to reference Nike’s slogan. In the song, he seemingly took a jab at the brand with the line: “But now, you get replaced like a pair of shoes.”
Brown engaged with Nike again in July after he wasn’t selected to play for Team USA at the 2024 Paris Games, tweeting directly at the brand. He followed up with a cryptic post a day later.
@nike this what we doing ?
— Jaylen Brown (@FCHWPO) July 10, 2024
Im not afraid of you or your resources
— Jaylen Brown (@FCHWPO) July 11, 2024
Boston is coming off a 139-114 win against the Brooklyn Nets in which Brown produced 24 points and 12 rebounds in the scorebooks. He is averaging 25.4 points and 7.2 rebounds per game for the Celtics.