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Jaylen Brown has gone a long way from what turned out to be a disappointing rookie year for Boston's third overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. As it turns, out, none other than Celtics legend Kevin Garnett played a key role in Brown's development from a mental standpoint.
Brown recently shared a story about how a simple voicemail from KG (sent via Asst. coach Bryan Doo) helped him get through a tough spot as a rookie:
“My head was down or something,” said Brown, via Celtics insider Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston. “I don’t think it was because I was sad or anything. But I wasn’t playing so I probably was a little bit disappointed.
” … He left me a voicemail and was basically like, ‘Yo, B-Doo, man, tell Jaylen this is trash.' Going on and on about this or that. Then he was like, ‘Yo, tell him that you’re in the big-boy league, you've got to strap up some day. It doesn’t always go your way, but you've got to figure out this or that.’”
Garnett is a well-loved figure in Boston, and it is clear that he continues to go out of his way to do whatever he can to help the franchise. In this particular instance, he reached out to a young and very promising kid, who was struggling with his confidence early in his career.
This moment turned out to have a significant impact on Brown's career moving forward:
” … I’ve respected him and his mentality for the game since forever,” Brown added. “It was so encouraging and inspiring and influential for him to reach out to me and be like, ’No, this is what the Celtics are about.’ Like, ‘Pick your M-Fing head up, right now.'”
Right now, Brown is on his way to playing in his first All-Star Game. It's been a bit of a bumpy ride for the 24-year-old, but clearly, he has Garnett to thank for providing him with a much-needed boost when he needed it the most.
