Celtics rookie Jaylen Brown showed up hours early to his first practice
The No. 3 overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft is eager to get started.
Jaylen Brown will begin his rookie season with plenty of expectations on his shoulders after being selected No. 3 overall by the Celtics in the 2016 NBA Draft.With training camp getting under way on Tuesday for the Celtics at their practice facility in Waltham, the 19-year-old swingman couldn’t contain his enthusiasm for getting his NBA career started.“I was overexcited,” Brown said after his first practice on Tuesday. “I didn’t get much sleep last night. I think I was here three or four hours early. I’m anxious and I’m ready to start.”The 6-foot-7 wing didn’t exhibit any nervousness in a productive opening practice, one of several that await the team in the coming days. Celtics head coach Brad Stevens will hold two-a-day sessions over the next week ahead of the team’s preseason opener against the Philadelphia 76ers next Tuesday at UMass.“It was good, I’m just glad to be out here,” Brown said. “I’m learning a lot, a lot of different things today. It’s exciting, you know first day of practice it’s a new journey. I’m happy to be here and I’m having a good time.”Stevens had his team focusing on offensive sets on Day 1, an area that Brown knows he needs to pick up quickly in order to be an asset to a team that won 48 games last season.“We have an iPad which has the different actions and stuff,” Brown said. “I was able to study and watch film on all of the different sets that we run, just so that there wouldn’t be any drop-off coming in. I was able to study quite a bit before we got here, looking at all of the different actions that we ran today.”The former Cal standout believes the early work is already paying off.“I feel like I’m a little ahead of the other rookies, and I’m supposed to be,” he said. “I was drafted so high, there’s a lot of education on me. I have to understand the game, understand the team and try to make a difference.”Overall, the entire learning experience is one that makes Brown feel like he’s still back on the Berkeley campus.“It is [like school],” he said, “and Brad Stevens is like the professor.”
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