Jaylen Brown
October 24, 1996
Jaylen Marselles Brown (born October 24, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played one year of college basketball for the California Golden Bears, being named first-team all-conference and Freshman of the Year in the Pac-12 Conference.
2015
While playing for the Golden Bears in 2015–16, Brown averaged 14.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in 27.6 minutes per game over 34 games. He had his best scoring games on November 27, 2015, against Richmond and January 27, 2016, against Utah, recording 27 points in each game. He had a season-high 11 rebounds twice during victories on November 23, 2015, against Sam Houston State and on January 1, 2016, against Colorado. On January 23, 2016, Brown recorded a season-high 7 assists to go with 15 points in a 74–73 victory over Arizona. Brown earned first-team All-Pac-12 honors and was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year.
May 01, 2015
On May 1, 2015, Brown committed to play for the Golden Bears at the University of California, Berkeley, under coach Cuonzo Martin and alongside fellow top-recruit Ivan Rabb. He was heralded as an all-around prospect due to his athleticism.
2016
On June 23, 2016, Brown was selected by the Boston Celtics with the third overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft. On July 27, he signed his rookie scale contract with the Celtics after averaging 16.0 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.3 steals in six Summer League games. He made his debut for the Celtics in their season opener on October 26 against the Brooklyn Nets, scoring nine points on 3-for-4 shooting, while adding two blocked shots in 19-plus minutes. In his first career start on November 3, Brown scored 19 points in a 128–122 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. On January 27, 2017, he scored a then career-high 20 points in a 128–98 win over the Orlando Magic. Brown helped the Celtics claim the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, before helping them advance through to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they were defeated by the Cavaliers in five games. Brown had a productive rookie season in 2016–17, with his role off the bench continuing to develop as the year went on. He appeared in 78 games for the Celtics during the regular season, with 20 starts. He averaged 17.2 minutes on the floor, 6.6 points, 2.8 rebounds and 0.8 assists. At the season's end, he was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.
January 31, 2017
Brown has a YouTube channel, where he has posted several documentary-style video series depicting his life during the season and off-season workouts. The first episode, FCHWPO: Pawn to E4, was posted on January 31, 2017. The video title refers to Brown's love of chess. FCHWPO, which is also Brown's Twitter and Instagram handle, stands for Faith, Consistency, Hard Work Pays Off.
October 17, 2017
In the Celtics' 2017–18 season opener against the Cavaliers on October 17, 2017, Brown scored a then career-high 25 points in a 102–99 loss. On November 18, he set a then career-high with 27 points and helped the Celtics win their 15th straight game with a 110–99 victory over the Atlanta Hawks. On December 13 he had a 26-point effort against the Denver Nuggets. Brown missed two weeks in March 2018 with a concussion. On April 6, 2018, he set a then career-high with 32 points in a 111–104 win over the Chicago Bulls. In Game 2 of the Celtics' first-round playoff series against the Milwaukee Bucks, Brown had a then playoff career-high 30 points in helping Boston take a 2–0 series lead with a 120–106 win. At age 21, Brown became the youngest player in Celtics history to score 30 or more points in a playoff game. In Game 4, Brown set a new playoff career-high and scored a career-high 34 points in a 104–102 loss. The Celtics went on to win the series in seven games, with Brown sitting out the second-round series opener with a strained right hamstring. He returned to action in Game 2 against the Philadelphia 76ers, scoring 13 points off the bench in a 108–103 win, helping the Celtics take a 2–0 series lead. In Game 5, Brown scored 24 points in a 114–112 series-clinching win. In Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Brown scored 27 points in a 109–99 loss to the Cavaliers.
2019
When he was 22 years old, Brown became the National Basketball Players Association's youngest elected vice president. In recent years, he has spoken on the importance of education and technology at Harvard University, the University of California, Berkeley, and MIT. In 2019, Brown was named as a MIT Media Lab fellow and has since collaborated with the university to create the Bridge Program, which mentors Greater Boston youth and high school students of color, who are interested in pursuing careers in STEM programs. Through his work with MIT and his 7uice Foundation, Brown has taken a strong interest in tackling education and income inequality, among other social advocacy initiatives.
December 28, 2019
Brown signed a four-year, $115 million contract extension with the Celtics. He tied his career-high 34 points this season against the Cleveland Cavaliers on December 28, 2019. In January, he narrowly missed being selected to the 2020 NBA All-Star Game. In the 2020 playoffs, the Celtics advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the third time in Brown's four years in the NBA following series victories over the Philadelphia 76ers and Toronto Raptors in four and seven games, respectively. However, Boston was eliminated in those Conference Finals by the Miami Heat in six games.
December 30, 2020
On December 30, 2020, Brown scored a then career-high 42 points along with five rebounds and four assists in a 126–107 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. On February 24, 2021, Brown was selected to the 2021 All-Star team as a reserve, his first time being named an NBA All-Star. On April 15, Brown scored 40 points in a 121–113 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. Brown's career-best season ended with only four regular season games left to be played, as he had to undergo wrist surgery for a torn scapholunate ligament in his left wrist.
October 20, 2021
On October 20, 2021, in the Celtics' season-opener, Brown recorded a then career-high 46 points in a 138–134 double overtime loss to the New York Knicks while also setting a Celtics franchise record for points on an opening night. On January 2, 2022, Brown surpassed that career-high, scoring 50 points, along with 11 rebounds, in a 116–111 overtime victory over the Orlando Magic. On January 8, Brown recorded his first career triple-double with 22 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in a 99–75 win over the New York Knicks. On March 18, in a 126–97 win over the Sacramento Kings, Brown and Jayson Tatum each scored at least 30 points in the same game for the fourth time in the season and eight time overall; tying the record for the most such games with fellow Celtics' Larry Bird and Kevin McHale, who also recorded four such games in the 1986–87 NBA season. The following game, in a 124–104 victory over the Denver Nuggets, Brown and Jayson Tatum broke the record by both scoring 30 points with over 60% shooting from the field.
December 02, 2022
On December 2, 2022, Brown recorded 37 points, along with 14 rebounds and 5 assists in a 120–116 overtime loss against the Miami Heat. He sent the game to overtime by banking in his long 3 with 1.7 seconds to play in regulation. On December 13, Brown posted 25 points, a season-high 15 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals in a 122–118 overtime win over the Los Angeles Lakers. On December 25, Brown had 29 points, along with five rebounds and four assists in a 139–118 blowout win against the Milwaukee Bucks. He and Jayson Tatum (41 points) combined for 70 points in a game for the eighth time in their careers.
January 11, 2023
On January 11, 2023, Brown scored a then season-high 41 points on 15-of-21 shooting from the field and grabbed 12 rebounds in a 125–114 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. It was the fifth 40-point game in Brown's career and the 10th time that Brown and Tatum (31 points) combined to score 70+ points. The Celtics are undefeated in those games. On February 2, 2023, Brown was named to his second NBA All-Star Game. On March 6, Brown posted a near triple-double with 32 points, 13 rebounds and 9 assists in a 118–114 overtime loss against the Cleveland Cavaliers. On March 13, Brown scored a season-high 43 points in a 111–109 loss against the Houston Rockets. On March 26, Brown recorded 41 points and 13 rebounds in a 137–93 blowout win over the San Antonio Spurs.
July 25, 2023
On July 25, 2023, Brown signed a five-year, $304 million contract extension, surpassing Nikola Jokić's $276 million extension as the richest deal in NBA history.
