Brown: “This is the Best I’ve Ever Felt, the Hardest I’ve Ever Worked”
BOSTON – Jaylen Brown’s championship and Finals MVP campaign was followed by a jam-packed summer: he traveled the world, dipped his toes into the music industry, and introduced a new basketball shoe to the world.
Yet in the midst of all that excitement, the 27-year-old still found enough time to work his way into the best shape of his life.
He said so himself ahead of the first day of training camp: “This is the best I’ve ever felt and the hardest that I’ve ever worked.”
Though, he didn’t need to say anything at all. He showed it just by walking into the room.
You’ve probably seen the photos and video clips; JB is physically more shredded than ever. And from a mental standpoint, he’s hungrier than ever.
How do you get hungrier after reaching the mountaintop? By being left off the All-NBA team, the All-Defense team, and the Olympic team. Those snubs motivated Brown even more.
“I would be lying if I said it didn’t,” he said. “As a competitor, you’re always looking for any key identifiers that can help you be motivated, stay motivated, and add to that chip on your shoulder. I’m that type of guy already. I’m always looking for something. But when things don’t go your way and those voices get louder, it makes you wake up, even more, to drive and be better.”
Discipline is the key to balancing Brown’s basketball goals with his interests and ambitions in other walks of life. Every minute of every day is planned out so that he can maximize his time.
Brown credits Celtics performance therapist Drew Moore for coordinating each detail of his day, “from when I wake up to when I eat breakfast to when I go out and have fun, to my workouts. Everything is scheduled, and that helps me have discipline.”
As for those workouts, they are as intense and unorthodox as could be.
One of Brown’s favorite methods of exercising is underwater. He’ll do endurance training and weight training all while holding his breath for minutes at a time.
He says those workouts are part of the reason why he was able to play such vigorous defense last season, picking up guys like Damian Lillard and Steph Curry in a full-court press.
“I put on some muscle coming back last year and it paid off for me just by being healthier, not having too many injuries, by protecting my ligaments and my joints,” Brown said. “And then just having an extra gear when it came to the playoffs. I was able to still play 70 games, pick up guys full court, play both sides of the ball with intensity, and maintain it all the way through the Finals.”
After seeing his work from the 2023 offseason pay its dividends, Brown was eager to find another gear. So he turned it up yet another notch after Boston’s championship run.
“I’m obsessed with challenging myself,” Brown said. “I kind of fell in love with it, so I’m always seeking new ways to improve. And the great thing about it is that there’s so much more room for improvement that I see in myself, and you guys see it as well. I’ve been able to accomplish a lot while not even being in my best form, so the room for growth is there.”
That’s a scary thought for a superstar who is coming off the most efficient season of his career. And it’s not just talk, because he says the same thing before every season, and then he goes out and backs up his words.
Brown will enter Year 9 in the best shape of his life, and he hasn’t even reached his physical peak yet.
