Boston Celtics fourth-year shooting guard Jaylen Brown is taking a leadership role in intra-team meetings concerning the ongoing pandemic and its impact on team business, according to reserve center Enes Kanter in a recent interview.
Brown has been pursuing leadership roles almost from the moment he joined the NBA — he is currently one of several vice presidents for the NBA’s Player Association, and has previously held tech summits and other events for his peers — and Kanter’s assessment sounds very on-brand for the Cal-Tech product.
Even on the day of the league’s shutdown, Brown was already working to alert fans to the seriousness of the virus behind the pandemic. He continued on that footing with teammates in team meetings, related the outspoken Turkish big man.
“Jaylen Brown, he’s different,” began Kanter.
“You know he’s definitely different because every time we had a conference call, you can tell that he is the leader. Sometimes we have a players-only Zoom conference, and then he’s just taking over, telling … some of us his life story, and doing all that.”
“[He tells us] what we should do in our free time and everything, and obviously, what he’s doing with youth is so amazing, and I am so inspired by him,” finished the big man, referring to Brown’s initiative to transform education in the US in partnership with M.I.T.’s Media Lab.
The former No. 3 pick might not have led his draft class in order of selection, but he’s done almost nothing else since, his passion for intellectual pursuits and learning informing his engagement with the NBA on several levels.
And in a moment of crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic, having players like Brown and veteran guard Marcus Smart leading the charge both in public and with the team has been a development both fans and teammates can be proud of.
