All-NBA Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown is embracing a new perspective on the court this season he picked up in the NBA’s 2023 postseason, focusing on a holistic approach to the game rather than just individual statistics.
Speaking in an interview with The Athletic’s Jay King, Brown acknowledged a drop in scoring and assists per game but stressed that he’s playing the best basketball of his life even so, both offensively and defensively. The source of this novel approach to the game for the Georgia native? Ironically enough, the fits that the Miami Heat gave him in the NBA’s 2023 Eastern Conference Finals series.
“It just inspired growth,” explained Brown. “It just inspired me to work hard.”
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“I probably worked the hardest I’ve ever worked this summer,” explained the Cal alum. “My body’s changed.”
“Athletically, I feel like I’m entering my prime, at peak athleticism. I’m running, I’m jumping, I’m defending. I’m guarding my ass off. I’m in the right spots. I’m more aware on defense. I’m more aware on offense. It just inspired me. Inspiration to improve is what it was. That’s how bad it stung to come up short the way we did, but I wouldn’t take anything back. Everything is for a reason … a part of being a human being is just learning and growing.”
“And that’s how I approach everything in life,” he added.
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“It starts in practice, every day with the reads,” Brown explained. “Just a heightened awareness of always trying to read the game, always trying to read what’s in front of you. Just being a student of the game.”
Given the former No.3 pick’s embrace of education regardless of the context, such an approach makes all the sense in the world for Brown.
And given his deliberate, almost methodical approach to his craft in all arenas, even if the results don’t seem obvious now, we expect his hard work to pay off in the end.
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