Jaylen Brown talks Bill Nye, new shoe brand on ‘Tonight Show’
"I just grew up loving education, and he made learning fun."
Ahead of his fourth All-Star appearance later this week, Celtics star Jaylen Brown made an appearance on Tuesday’s taping of “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” in New York City.
The Celtics wing and 2024 NBA Finals MVP touched on several topics during his interview with Fallon, including his affinity for longtime television star and science educator Bill Nye.
During his chat with Brown, Fallon brought up a tweet that Brown posted in November 2024 — with the 28-year-old basketball star asking social media how he could meet the star of “Bill Nye The Science Guy”.
“I just grew up loving education, and he made learning fun,” Brown told Fallon about why he wanted to meet Nye. “I know a lot of people probably feel the same way, but yeah, shout out to Bill.”
It didn’t take long for Brown to get his wish, as he was able to meet Nye after the Celtics’ road game against the Washington Wizards on Nov. 22.
“I don’t know what made me even tweet that,” Brown said of meeting Nye after that win over Washington. “I think I was just up thinking about just [the] educational experience and it just crossed my mind. I was like ‘man I’ve got to meet this guy.’ His contributions to S.T.E.M. and S.T.E.A.M. have been amazing. … “Growing up, I used to be excited when the teacher used to say ‘we’re watching Bill Nye today’.
“ Looking back on it, to be able to shake his hand, for him helping me on my educational journey, it was pretty cool tonight.”
Fallon asked Brown what the topic of his conversation with Nye was during their meeting last year.
“I teach — I do MIT fellowship and lectures at Harvard. I told him maybe we could do a Bill Nye spinoff or something.” Brown said. “I would love to do something, an education journey, kind of like pass the torch and kind of take where he left off.”
Brown also discussed his new performance wear brand, 741, during his interview with Fallon — who asked why he wanted to start up his own brand instead of signing with an established company on a new endorsement deal.
“I just wanted to be able to tell the story and just encourage other athletes to start the journey themselves. [Independence] and understanding your value to some degree and also just giving some different options. We have some of the same brands we’ve seen for the last ten years and hopefully the next ten years we’ll be able to see some different ones emerge.”
Brown showcased his 741 sneakers on Fallon’s desk, with Fallon asking if he could dunk like Brown if he were to wear them on the hardwood.
“So, I’m gonna tell you the truth — I’m gonna look you in the eye. … Absolutely,” Brown said with a grin.
You can watch Brown’s full interview from the “Tonight Show” below, which includes the Celtics star elaborating on his leap over Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell during the 2024 NBA Slam Dunk Contest.
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