Jaylen Brown

Jaylen Brown (born October 24, 1996, Marietta, Georgia, U.S.) is an American basketball player who since 2016 has been a shooting guard and small forward for the Boston Celtics. In 2024 Brown helped the team win a record-setting 18th NBA championship.

Early life and college

Brown was born in the Atlanta suburb of Marietta. His father, Marselles Brown, was a 7-foot (2.13-meter) champion heavyweight boxer, and his mother, Mechalle Brown, was a teacher. After the couple separated, Mechalle Brown raised Jaylen and his older brother, Quenton, and she stressed the importance of education as well as activism.

Jaylen Brown began playing basketball at a young age, and he was a small forward at Wheeler High School. During his senior year (2014–15), Brown averaged 28 points and 12 rebounds per game. In the Georgia 6A championship game, he scored 22 points, including two free throws with 0.6 second left, to lead his team to a 59–58 win. He was named the 2014–15 Gatorade Georgia Boys Basketball Player of the Year.

Although heavily recruited, Brown opted to forgo a traditional basketball school and instead attended the University of California, Berkeley (commonly called Cal). In a 2024 interview with Time magazine, he explained his decision: “Cal is known for people who share their opinions and how they feel and dedicate their lives to causes and use their platforms to try to make the world a better place.” During his freshman year, 2015–16, the 6-foot 7-inch (2-meter) Brown averaged 14.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, and he was named the 2016 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year. However, he played poorly in the NCAA tournament, scoring just four points as Cal was upset in the first round. Shortly thereafter Brown announced that he was leaving school to enter the 2016 NBA draft.

NBA

Brown was chosen by the Boston Celtics with the third overall pick. The selection was slightly controversial. Although the team praised his athleticism and competitiveness, others noted that he was an inconsistent shooter and prone to turnovers.

During his rookie season (2016–17), Brown averaged 6.6 points and 0.8 assists per game, and he tied for eighth place in voting for the Rookie of the Year award. The Celtics posted a record of 53–29 that season, and in the playoffs the team advanced to the Eastern Conference finals. There Boston was defeated by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Over the next few seasons, Brown became a key player on the team, and Boston continued to make deep playoff runs but failed to reach the finals. In the 2020–21 season, Brown averaged 24.7 points per game and appeared in his first All-Star game. The following season, the Celtics made it to the NBA finals but lost to the Golden State Warriors.

In the 2022–23 season, Brown averaged 26.6 points per game and was named to the All-NBA Second Team. However, in the postseason, Boston again lost in the Eastern Conference finals. Brown and forward Jayson Tatum then led the Celtics to a remarkable season in 2023–24. The team went 64–18 and returned to the playoffs. Backed by Brown’s strong play, the Celtics beat the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference finals, and Brown was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) of that series. He continued to dominate in the NBA finals—he averaged 20.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 5 assists per game—and Boston defeated the Dallas Mavericks, 4–1, to win the franchise’s 18th title. Brown was voted MVP of the finals.

Brown was controversially passed over for the U.S. national team competing at the 2024 Summer Olympics. He was not selected for the original roster, and, after Los Angeles Lakers forward Kawhi Leonard dropped out because of a knee injury, Brown’s Boston teammate Derrick White was chosen as the replacement. Brown suggested that Nike’s sponsorship of the national team may have influenced his snub, as he had criticized the brand for dropping Kyrie Irving after the latter had shared a link to an anti-Semitic documentary on his Twitter (now X) account.

Other activities

Brown is the founder of two philanthropic organizations: The 7uice Foundation, which “partners with institutions, organizations and social change leaders to bridge the opportunity gap for youth in traditionally underserved Black and Brown communities,” and Boston XChange, which aims to “empower historically marginalized communities through innovative programming, strategic partnerships, and a state-of-the-art incubator.” Brown has stated that he hopes Boston XChange will establish a Black Wall Street. He also had a fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab.