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It has been two years since Team USA earned the gold medal in the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

However, the roster built by managing director Grant Hill brought in the people in question, especially avoiding the NBA’s 2024 champion and Finals MVP Jaylen Brown.

Hill discussed the thought process behind why the team chose Jrue Holiday and Derrick White to compete over Brown.

“Contrary to popular belief, I do like Jaylen Brown. I love his game and things got difficult there with that team. So, in putting the team together, just to put some context, we had Kawhi Leonard penciled in on that team and he got hurt at the end of that season in 2024. He came to camp, he wasn’t right, and so we had to pivot,” Hill said per The Road Trippin’ Show.

The 2024 Team USA roster consisted of skilled backcourts along with Stephen Curry, but lacked defensive stoppers.

“Jrue Holiday was so important for us in that FIBA game. A point guard who can play his role, ball pressure, the whole nine. So, if Jrue got hurt, our point guard were [Tyrese] Haliburton and [Stephen] Curry, and defense wasn’t necessarily their strong point. So, it was like ‘let’s bring in insurance for Jrue Holiday’ and it was like Derrick White,” he explained.

Although Hill had few criticisms of not acquiring key players like Brown, they still brought the chip back home with backcourts taking over an important role.

“I called Jaylen, we had a great conversation. Unbelievable conversation…,” Hill added.

The Hall of Famer became the managing director of the USA Men’s National Team in April 2021, replacing Jerry Colangelo.