Jaylen Brown Always Keeps it Real

The title might be a bit dramatic, but what I'm really getting at is Jaylen Brown's bold challenge to the major players in the sneaker industry—primarily Nike, and to a lesser extent, Adidas and Under Armour 🤺

Jaylen recently appeared on the Stephen A. Smith show and didn't mince words about his situation with Team USA. He bluntly stated, "In 2028, if I have to sign with Nike to increase my likelihood to play USA Basketball—I'll pass." Wow. Jaylen's taking on the world's biggest sneaker company head-on, and I respect his courage 💪

Jaylen also called out the sneaker brand-driven world of AAU. For those unfamiliar, high-profile AAU teams play in either Nike, Adidas, or Under Armour circuits, essentially forcing young kids to declare brand allegiance early on. As someone who works in the sneaker industry with these brands, I don't believe they're doing anything particularly nefarious by running brand-specific circuits, but I understand Jaylen's perspective. These brands have indeed taken over youth basketball 🏀

It's worth noting that Jaylen has his own brand, 7uice, and produces his own sneakers. I love seeing a player venture out independently and create their own brand. I admire Jaylen's bravery in standing up to massive corporations and can't wait to see what kind of performance basketball sneakers he develops 📈

What’s Happening

• Nike Dunk Low “LA” Out Tomorrow

• Nike Giannis Freak 6 “Halloween”

• The Nike Ja 2 “Nightmare”

Thank you for reading the Overtime Kicks newsletter, if you have any feedback hit that reply button and let us know what you thought 🙏

If this was forwarded to you, subscribe here 👇