Jaylen Brown may well be one of the most interesting men in the world. The Boston Celtics' wing is one of the NBA's up-and-coming young players, but his sole focus isn't on basketball. He has a lot of interests outside of the sport and has never been shy talking about them.
And that dates to before the Celtics selected him with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft
In the latest episode of the Celtics Talk Podcast, A. Sherrod Blakely was joined by ESPN's Marc J. Spears, who detailed a story he wrote about Brown in the lead-up to the 2017 draft.
Listen and subscribe to the Celtics Talk Podcast:
Download the MyTeams app for the latest Celtics news and analysis
Spears recalled that general managers were actually a bit worried about Brown because "his mind was all over the place."
Boston Celtics
So, when he was entering the draft, I wrote a story about how he was the most interesting player in the draft. And that some general managers thought he was maybe too smart. That he had too many interests, that his mind was all over the place. So, Jaylen and I went to lunch where I did the interview in Berkeley. And I told his people, 'I want him to pick the restaurant. Wherever he wants to go, I've got the bill. Let's do it.'
So, what happened? Brown ended up picking a Brazilian restaurant in Berkeley and showed up wearing a Cristiano Ronaldo jersey. And from there, Spears got a chance to learn just how interesting of a person Brown is.
He was telling me about how he wanted to use his platform to do big things and how he wasn't coming into the NBA with an agent but he had a group of people who he trusted from different realms: business, sports, entertainment, education that he used as sounding boards for some of the things he wanted to do. And he was teaching himself Spanish and how to play the guitar. And I'm like, 'Who is this kid I'm talking to?'
He had some great workouts and now you know who he is. But like, people say, 'If you could go to dinner with somebody and have an interesting dinner, who would you pick?' If you're in Boston, try to go to dinner with Jaylen Brown. You're definitely going to have an interesting time and he sees things much differently than what's inside the arena.
That's certainly a great endorsement of Brown. And it showcases that his versatility isn't just a tool he has on the court as an offensive threat and a great defender. He carries that in his various off-court interests as well.
For more on Brown's unique personality and fellow Celtics teammate and renaissance man Grant Williams, check out the latest episode of the Celtics Talk Podcast or watch it on YouTube.