Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown reacting during game.Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
A former NBA star believes there may be “a conspiracy” against the Boston Celtics’ dynamic duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

Less than two months after they led the Celtics to the franchise’s first NBA championship in 16 years, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown made offseason headlines for reasons out of their control.

Brown was stunningly snubbed from the USA Basketball men’s Olympic team that defeated France to win gold. Team USA head coach Steve Kerr curiously limited Tatum’s playing time throughout the tournament. The 26-year-old was benched for two games and only averaged 17.7 minutes per contest in the four games he suited up for.

During the latest episode of “The Underground Lounge” co-hosted by former NBA star Lou Williams and comedian Spank Horton, the former questioned if there may be a conspiracy against Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown:

“Is there a conspiracy theory going on against Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, bro? I really want to know. I’m trying to wrap my head around this whole concept of Jaylen Brown not being on that team…the league trying to pit them against each other when they’ve never done that to two superstars. I’ve never seen that.”

Williams then questioned the limited playing time for Tatum, nothing that he “put in the body of work” to the point where he deserves “respect.” Williams also wondered why fellow Celtic Derrick White got considerable playing time over Tatum when he’s merely Boston’s third or fourth-best player.

Thanks to the heroics of LeBron James and Stephen Curry, the US won gold and prevented Kerr from suffering further scrutiny. Still, his decision to hardly play Boston’s young superstar remains a mystery in the wake of the celebration.

Jayson Tatum & Jaylen Brown Can Now Focus On A Repeat

Though he left Paris with an Olympic gold medal around his neck anyway, one could understand why Tatum may feel disappointed about his limited playing time. And if you’re Jaylen Brown, you have good reason to question being snubbed after winning the NBA championship as well as NBA Finals MVP.

But Tatum and Brown have shown remarkable resilience and maturity in the face of adversity. The Olympics saga is now behind both stars, who are now focused on leading the Celtics to a rare NBA repeat.