The evolution of Jaylen Brown never stops -- even during an exhibition contest.
The Celtics guard played in his first NBA All-Star Game on Sunday night in Atlanta, suiting up for Team LeBron against Team Durant and his Boston teammate, Jayson Tatum.
Brown held his own with 22 points, five rebounds and two steals in Team LeBron's 170-150 victory (check out his highlights in the video above), but more importantly, he got to rub elbows with the NBA's elite.
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Highlights: Tatum, Brown put on a show at 2021 All-Star Game
Brown used that to his advantage, chatting up Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James and others to learn the tricks of their trade.
"Being able to have back-and-forth dialogues with those guys -- I was talking to LeBron while sitting on the bench, asking him questions,"Â Brown told reporters in a video conference after the All-Star Game. "Probably being annoying, but learning something. Trying to pick up some information, some knowledge."
Now that Brown's Celtics aren't in his conference, perhaps James shared some insights with the 24-year-old, who already has come a long way since LeBron's Cleveland Cavaliers beat the C's in consecutive Eastern Conference finals in Brown's first two seasons.
Brown also admitted to being in awe of Stephen Curry and Damian Lillard, who combined to hit 16 3-pointers Sunday in a dazzling performance.
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"I've always had the feeling that I belong but to be honest, to watch some of these guys up close is unbelievable,"Â Brown said. "Steph and Dame, I know they didnât win the MVP but some of the stuff they was doing out there was unreal."
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Brown hit five 3-pointers of his own while earning some love from Curry -- even if he couldn't quite reach Steph's level.
"When I got hot there, Steph was the main person who was cheering me on,"Â Brown said. "And I shot one from the logo and it didnât go in, but Steph said that he liked it. So I was like, 'Man, I thought I was you for a second,'Â and he started laughing."
Brown and the 19-17 Celtics have plenty of room for improvement if they want to make a playoff run down the stretch. But the five-year veteran acted (and played) like he belonged with the NBA's biggest stars Sunday, which is a great sign for C's fans as Brown continues his ascent.