4 things we learned from Jaylen Brown’s Men’s Health cover profile
Brown shared that he wants to emulate Bill Russell, Muhammad Ali, and Kobe Bryant.
A familiar face for Celtics fans is on the cover of the latest edition of Men’s Health magazine.
Celtics star Jaylen Brown donned the cover of Men’s Health‘s Winter 2024 issue. Brown, who was shirtless on the cover, spoke with Men’s Health fitness director and certified trainer Ebenezer Samuel for the cover story, which was titled “Jaylen Brown vs. the NBA, Nike, and the World.”
In the story, Brown shared some of his offseason workouts with Samuel. He also shared some basketball-related thoughts, who his heroes are, and disclosed new information about his relationship with Nike.
Here are four things we learned about Brown from the Men’s Health profile, which can be read here.
Brown believed Jason Kidd’s comment about him during NBA Finals was sincere.
Mavericks coach Jason Kidd created some headlines between Games 1 and 2 of the NBA Finals in June, calling Brown the Celtics’ best player. Kidd’s comment was viewed as a tactic to possibly create a divide by some with the Celtics getting a strong victory in Game 1 en route to their Finals win.
At the time, Brown said he had “no reaction” to Kidd’s comment. After winning Finals MVP, Brown was asked about Kidd’s comment again by Samuel.
“If you ask him, I think he meant exactly what he was saying,” Brown replied. “I think he honestly believed that was just his opinion.”
Brown had a strong performance in Boston’s five-game victory over Dallas. He scored 20.8 points per game to go with 5.4 rebounds, five assists, and 1.6 steals per game in the series. But his greatest impact arguably came on the defensive end, where he was the Celtics’ primary defender on Luka Doncic. The Mavericks star shot just 40.9 percent from the field and 25 percent from distance while committing five turnovers when Brown guarded him, per NBA.com’s tracking stats.
Kidd and Brown have also developed a relationship off the court. The duo, who are Cal alums, formed a partnership in August to bring XChange to Oakland. Brown formed Boston XChange with help from Jrue and Lauren Holliday earlier in the summer to help “empower underrepresented creators and entrepreneurs by providing the resources, support, and opportunities needed to thrive.”
Brown admitted that there have been moments in his career where he’s felt he “deserved more.”
For much of his career, Brown has played second fiddle to Jayson Tatum on the Celtics. Ever since Kyrie Irving’s departure in the 2019 offseason, Tatum has led the team in scoring with Brown finishing second in the team in scoring in each of the last four years.
As a result, Tatum has seemed to receive a greater share of the limelight than Brown. Comments like the one Kidd made during the Finals were also frequent before they won a title as some analysts felt Brown was good enough to lead his own team or thought the partnership between him and Tatum wouldn’t work.
Brown told Samuel there were times when he thought he should be getting more than what he got in Boston.
“I’ve always had the understanding of a process, of a team, and I never really complained about it,” Brown said. “Have I thought I deserved more at certain points in my career? One thousand percent.”
Brown didn’t specify what “more” meant in the interview. He had been the subject of trade rumors, though, in recent years, most notably being rumored as the centerpiece of a deal to acquire Kevin Durant in 2022.
Obviously, the Celtics kept Brown. They later signed him to a supermax extension in the 2023 offseason that was the largest contract in NBA history at the time, which was surpassed by the extension Tatum signed in July.
Now, Brown seems more secure in his role, telling Samuel that he’s “the leader of this team.”
“It’s my job to bring the best out of everybody,” Brown told Samuel. “Sometimes it’s okay to take a back seat in order for other people to shine.”
Brown shared which three athletes he most wants to emulate.
Brown told Samuel that he wants to have a legacy akin to the likes of Bill Russell, Muhammad Ali, and Kobe Bryant.
“Bill Russell, for what he spoke towards in terms of inequalities and justice for people of color,” Brown told Samuel. “Muhammad Ali, for his belief system, his faith, his charisma, his fearlessness — and his affirmation that ‘I’m the greatest.’ Kobe had that I-don’t-give-a-[expletive] attitude. Kobe’s confidence was real fulfilling, like he really thought that highly of himself — but also because he worked hard.”
Brown has often shared his admiration for Russell, a Celtics icon. He was actually tardy for a Celtics practice so he could attend and speak at the City of Boston’s ceremony in renaming the North Washington Street Bridge after Russell in October.
“Bill Russell transcends sports,” Brown said at the event. “I can speak on and on about his résumé, but his character, his demeanor, and how he handled himself through adversity, I think that speaks volumes, especially in a time like today. I think it’s very fitting that the bridge is getting named after him, because what a bridge does is bring people together. And the leadership of sports and the role that sports play in our society is bringing people together.”
Brown has also been vocal in spreading awareness of off-court issues, similar to Russell. He drove from Boston to Atlanta to be a part of a protest at the height of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020. He’s also started off-court initiatives, like the aforementioned Boston XChange, to help reduce wealth inequality.
Prior to the interview with Samuel, Brown hadn’t shared too much about his admiration for Ali and Bryant in the past. He actually has a tie to Ali, who his grandfather said he boxed against in training sessions. Brown boxed with his grandfather during the NBA’s shutdown in 2020 to remain in shape.
But Brown has also spoken a lot about his faith in recent years, observing Ramadan late in the Celtics’ season on multiple occasions. He also performed Umrah as he made the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, with former Celtics teammate Tacko Fall in July. Ali was also Muslim, converting to Sunni Islam during his boxing career.
As for his admiration for Bryant, Brown actually mentioned the Lakers icon as one of the inspirations for why he started 741, his performance brand, in an interview with Stephen A. Smith in October.
“A lot of the reason why I started this shoe company is because I read an article around 2019 or so that Kobe was doing the same thing before he passed,” Brown told Smith.
On the court, Brown and Bryant have some similarities. Before leading the Lakers to titles in 2009 and 2010, Bryant was also the second fiddle of a two-star tandem with Shaquille O’Neal. Bryant and O’Neal helped the Lakers win three championships in a row from 2000-02 before their falling out led to O’Neal being traded in 2004.
Brown said he passed on multi-million dollar deals with sneaker companies because he wouldn’t be allowed to design his own signature shoe.
Brown’s beef with Nike following his Olympics snub over the summer was one of the bigger storylines surrounding the Celtics after their title win. But he actually negotiated a shoe deal with Nike, along with Under Armor and Puma, after his deal with Adidas expired in 2021, according to Samuel.
There was one hold-up that Brown had with Nike and each apparel brand he negotiated with, though, claiming none of them would allow him to design his own signature shoe.
“They wasted my time,” Brown said. “They pretended that they would listen. Once it gets to the contract, they’re like, ‘Well, our superstars that we have here that are — that at the time were bigger than I was — this is the contract they have.’”
Brown told Samuel that his approach in negotiations probably cost him “millions of dollars worth of deals.” He opted to launch 741 ahead of the Celtics’ regular season, releasing his first signature shoe, the Rover, shortly after.
In September, Brown told reporters that he’s hoping the launch of 741 will help inspire other star athletes to do something similar.
“My whole ideology is being able to create other options,” Brown said. “There’s a lot of guys who feel like they want to do other things, and they’re afraid, or don’t know how. As a Player’s Association rep, I listen to them. I listen to guys’ stories as they get older. I listen to guys’ stories as they transition through their career and they wish they had other options.
“So, the solution for me was to start using my platform to create [those], spark others, and show them exactly how they can do it.”
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