{"id":772063,"date":"2023-02-02T10:56:57","date_gmt":"2023-02-02T15:56:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/?p=772063"},"modified":"2023-05-15T15:58:04","modified_gmt":"2023-05-15T19:58:04","slug":"jaylen-brown-slam-242","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/the-magazine\/jaylen-brown-slam-242\/","title":{"rendered":"Celtics superstar Jaylen Brown is on a Mission to Fulfill His Higher Purpose"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Jaylen Brown is submerged under 12 feet of water, holding 50-pound weights in both hands and panicking. He feels like he\u2019s about to drown. It\u2019s the offseason and the Boston Celtics superstar is in the middle of one of his first training sessions in Malibu, at a facility owned by legendary big-wave surfer Laird Hamilton. Hamilton, according to Brown, had given him just one strict rule to follow: Whatever happens in the water, just don\u2019t throw the weights. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the mind has ways of playing tricks on you. It starts to sense oxygen deprivation, triggering a response to the body\u2019s nervous system. Feelings of fear and anxiety arise. But at that moment, as it started to feel like he was reaching a breaking point, what did the All-Star decide to do?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brown chooses survival. Hurling the weights out of the pool, he accidentally tosses them in the direction of Hamilton\u2019s wife, Gabby. \u201cAlmost drowning will for sure humble you,\u201d Brown tells us while on set for his SLAM cover shoot. \u201cWater is a great equalizer. You could have the most confidence in the world, [but] when you get in that water, it neutralizes [you]. It [doesn\u2019t] care if you\u2019re a billionaire or a normal person, that water treats everybody the same. It\u2019s not forgiving, and if you don\u2019t respect it, or think you\u2019re above it, it\u2019ll show you. You learn that you got to be humble. The humility will show in the water.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Jaylen Brown is always a step ahead. Get your copy of SLAM 242 featuring the NBA All-Star.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The idea to do underwater training came to Brown this past summer, when he initially looked to hire a swim coach (at the time, he says, he wasn\u2019t the greatest swimmer). Just a few months after losing to the Golden State Warriors in the 2022 NBA Finals, Brown shared a video on his Instagram account of one of the 20 sessions he did with Hamilton, doing everything from squat jumps to backflips. He learned how to stay calm and composed, even when his mind was telling him the opposite. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen you feel like you\u2019re out of breath, that\u2019s your mind sending alarms to the rest of your body saying you need air, but you probably still got 40-45 seconds left in reality before you actually run out of air,\u201d Brown explains. \u201cIt just feels like that. [But] you don\u2019t panic. You got time to set the weights down [and] compose yourself. Just swim back to the top.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His words are almost prophetic for his own ascension. From averaging just 6.6 points as a rookie, to being on the bench, getting snubbed from the All-Star team last season and falling short in the NBA Finals to averaging the best numbers of his career this season: 26.9 points and 7.1 rebounds, as we went to press. Brown has been playing at a level so undeniably elite that by the time this magazine hits your hands, we expect him to be about to land in Salt Lake City for the All-Star Game. His name has even been mentioned in the MVP conversation (along with his teammate Jayson Tatum, of course). The symbolism is all there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And yet, Brown\u2019s thinking goes way beyond just basketball. It\u2019s bigger than that. \u201cEverybody has those moments in life where adversity hits and you think, Why me? <\/em>Adversity hits and you think, Oh, my life is over. <\/em>Adversity hits and you think, This is the end. <\/em>When, in reality, it\u2019s just the beginning.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Jaylen Brown\u2019s first introduction to Boston came during the 2016 NBA Draft. As a highly touted and gifted prospect out of the University of California- Berkeley, Brown took a master class in college, choosing not to be represented by an agent. One GM labeled him \u201ctoo smart,\u201d and the Celtics\u2019 fan base made it clear how they felt about their No. 3 overall pick. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey booed me,\u201d Brown recalls. \u201c[Owner] Wyc [Grousbeck] was calling my name and he\u2019s up there saying, Jaylen, he\u2019s gonna be one of the best players the city has ever seen<\/em>. He\u2019s up there, like, defending the pitch. We\u2019re sticking with it, y\u2019all get over it. This is who we\u2019re going with<\/em>.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Any rookie might have felt some type of way, but Brown knew that there was a higher purpose for why he was selected by the Celtics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBefore I got drafted, honestly, I told God to put me where he needed me,\u201d he says. \u201cHe chose me to be here, for whatever reason. I remember, distinctly, I didn\u2019t care where I went, you know, I could have played basketball in Alaska. But I told him to put me where I needed to be and he placed me in Boston. So, instantly, I knew that it was bigger than my personal decisions. My personal happiness is about what you can do and how you can affect the community and how you\u2019re going to use your platform. I really feel like that\u2019s the only reason why I got talent. Our creator wanted me to do something with it. Bigger than just what I do on the court.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There are signs everywhere. Brown, who is into astrology and believes in angel numbers, has a specific connection with the number 7, which symbolizes intuition and inner wisdom. He wears the No. 7 on his jersey and named his foundation 7uice. \u201cGuardian angels showing me the right way to go,\u201d Brown says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, in his seventh season, in the year 2023 (whose numbers, he points out, add up to seven), Brown has become just as revered for his impact within the Boston community as he has for his dominance on the court. Back in October, he surprised middle schoolers at the Helen Y. Davis Leadership Academy in Dorchester with free backpacks. He\u2019s taken the time to get to know the city, too. One of Brown\u2019s favorite restaurants is a Black-owned Caribbean-Asian-Latin fusion spot called ZaZ, located right in Cleary Square in Hyde Park. This summer, amid trade rumors reportedly involving Kevin Durant, Brown pulled up to Harambee Park, also known as Franklin Field, for the Dorchester vs Roxbury basketball game. He even wore a green t-shirt that referenced his now-famous tweet<\/a><\/strong>, \u201cThe Energy is About to Shift.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the Celtics did manage to completely turn things around last year after being under .500 midway through, Brown was actually referring to himself when he tweeted<\/a><\/strong> that on January 31, 2022. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA lot of times when I tweet stuff, it\u2019s like I\u2019m talking to myself. Posting, like, reminders for me. Sometimes it\u2019s not for the world, it\u2019s for me,\u201d Brown tells SLAM. \u201cThere was a lot going on, and you know at certain times of the year where you feel like things aren\u2019t going in your direction, where it just seems like everything is going wrong. It could be like Murphy\u2019s Law, could be a retrograde, whatever you attribute it to\u2026At that moment, that\u2019s what was going on for me, and it felt like that not only for me, but kind of for our team. I just tweeted [it] out as a reassurance to myself. Like, don\u2019t worry, the energy is about to shift.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n