Jaylen Brown

Background

Jaylen Marselles Brown was raised by his parents, Mechalle and Marselles Brown. He attended Wheeler High School in Marietta, Georgia. His basketball prowess quickly came to light during his high school days, and he helped lead his team to victory in several games, including the Georgia High School Association Class 6A State Championship. He was a part of the U.S.A. Basketball Men’s U18 National Team in the FIBA Americas Championship in 2014 and won a gold medal. He graduated from high school after he was named ‘Player of the Year’ by the Gatorade Georgia Boys, U.S.A. Today’s All-U.S.A. Georgia, as well as Georgia’s Mr. Basketball.

Brown was recruited by the Golden Bears at the University of California, Berkeley, in 2015 under the coach, Cuonzo Martin. He played for the Golden Bears in the 2015/16 season and achieved a peak of 27 points per game twice. He was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year. Shortly after, he entered the 2016 N.B.A. Draft and was selected as the third overall pick by the Boston Celtics. He signed the rookie contract and made his debut in a game against the Brooklyn Nets three months later. He appeared in a total of 78 games that season, and it was an overall productive rookie season for him. At the end of the 2018/19 season, he signed a $115 million, four-year contract extension with the Celtics. He scored a then career-high 42 points in December 2020 and was named an N.B.A. All-Star in February 2021.

Brown finds time to pursue other interests apart from basketball, which include learning, public speaking, and activism. He was elected the vice-president of the National Basketball Players Association when he was 22 and was named an M.I.T. Media Lab Fellow in 2019.