"Where's his sneaker deal at?" - Stephen A. Smith reckons Jaylen Brown can rebrand himself by taking down Luka Doncic in NBA Finals

Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown received a boost for a sneaker deal and increased fame from sports personality Stephen A. Smith, who believes Brown could achieve superstardom if the Celtics defeat Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and the Dallas Mavericks in this year's NBA Finals.

On the Stephen A. Smith Show, Smith remarked that while Jaylen Brown has star potential and skills, he is not yet marketable.

Smith emphasized his point by noting that Brown has yet to secure a lucrative shoe deal.

“You know how many people out there got sneaker deals? AD and LeBron got a sneaker deal. Luka and Kyrie got a sneaker deal. Giannis and Dame got a sneaker deal. Everywhere you turn, the sneaker deals. Jayson Tatum got sneaker deals,” Smith said.

“Where's Jaylen Brown's commercials? Where are his endorsement deals? Where's his signature sneaker? Where's his sneaker deal at? Why wouldn't he have it?”

Smith noted that as one of the top players on the Celtics, who had the best regular-season record in the NBA and only two playoff losses so far, Brown should be attracting interest from companies wanting him as a brand ambassador.

Smith believes this could change if Brown defeats superstars Doncic and Irving in the finals.

“Does [Brown] sound like somebody that's liked to you by Madison Avenue, by Corporate America, by the people who dole out those kinds of opportunities and those kinds of dollars? Evidently not."

"That's the situation with Jaylen Brown. You know what alleviates all of that? If you go into the finals against Luka and Kyrie and you destroy them,” Smith said.

Why doesn’t Jaylen Brown have a shoe deal?

In November 2023, Jaylen Brown mentioned on the podcast "Point Forward" with Andre Iguodala and Evan Turner that he didn't have a shoe deal because he wanted creative control.

He criticized how athletes are often "stuck on stationary deals" that offer no control over marketing and creativity.

"Athletes get kind of stuck on stationary deals. It's like, here it is—cut and dry. No creative control, no control over your marketing, no input," Brown said.

He also lamented that when these shoe deals expire, athletes are abandoned by brands and are not treated well upon their departure.

"Once you get to the end of those deals where maybe your influence has dropped and they’re looking at the new one, how do they treat you on the way out?" he said.

Brown had a rookie shoe deal with Adidas but has been a sneaker free agent since it expired.