Here’s why Jaylen Brown has ‘Humble & Hungry’ on his shoes for the All-Star game
The message is a tribute to Tracy McGrady, one of Brown's favorite players.
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A few years before Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown played his first minutes in the NBA, one of Brown’s favorite players, Hall-of-Fame guard Tracy McGrady, tweeted a mantra for the future star to live by:
“@FCHWPO Remember Humble And Hungry..”
As Brown takes the court for his first All-Star appearance tonight — almost seven years after that message — he’s showing his old mentor he hasn’t forgotten the advice.
The young Celtics star inscribed the words “Hungry & Humble” on his red and blue All-Star Weekend shoes, both an homage to McGrady and a promise for the future.
In 2014, T-Mac tweeted "Remember Humble and Hungry" to Jaylen Brown.
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 7, 2021
Brown has that same message on his shoes ahead of his first #NBAAllStar Game đź‘Ź @FCHWPO pic.twitter.com/uuKHES7Hso
Brown has called McGrady an “all-time favorite” player of his in the past and worked out with him during his early years in the league.
“I watched him growing up, patterned my game after him,” said Brown of his training time with McGrady back in 2018. “Being able to talk to him, have him invite me out, it meant the world to me.”
Brown said then that he saw McGrady as a template for his own success: an example of a big guard who could handle the ball well and score from anywhere on the court. But he also admired how the 16-year NBA veteran and 2017 Hall-of-Fame inductee handled adversity throughout his storied career.
“Him talking to me about the ups and downs he experienced throughout his career, early in his career, later in his career,” Brown explained. “He gave me advice, gave me a lot of motivation in terms of just keep working, keep getting better, and don’t be so concerned with everything else going on around you. Focus on your task at hand, and continue doing that.”
On Sunday night, Brown didn’t make as big a splash as he hoped for in the NBA’s 3-Point Contest, registering the lowest score of any first-round shooters in the competition.
But who knows? Maybe that struggle, and his promise to one of his favorite players, will motivate him that much more to make big plays in the All-Star Game this evening and on even more All-Star Weekends in the future.
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