Jaylen Brown on expectations after extension: ‘I don’t shy away from pressure’
Some might say Jaylen Brown has high expectations coming into next season. After experiencing playoff woes and signing the biggest contract in NBA history, there is a lot riding on this upcoming 2023-24 season. Well, as a wise man once said, pressure makes diamonds, and Jaylen Brown isn’t shying away from any pressure.
“I don’t shy away from pressure,” he said. “I know what the demand is, I know what the expectation level is, and I know the work that’s required. Everything about me is about work. So, I look at it as just another challenge to get better, another challenge to improve. I don’t think nobody has seen my best yet. God willing, I’ll be able to put my best foot forward and do what I do best.”
The Boston Celtics have been making moves this offseason, some good and some bad.
But the ultimate goal is to get them their next championship. Boston recently acquired Kristaps Porzingis from the Washington Wizards. In doing so, they traded away their defensive anchor, Marcus Smart. The Celtics will have a lot of weight on their shoulders defensively, and with high expectations. Outside of the Phoenix Suns, the Boston Celtics could be No. 2 in terms of moves this offseason. But expectations are one thing, and converting them into reality is another.
“It would mean the world,” Brown told NBC Sports Boston’s Chris Forsberg when asked about winning with Tatum. “Why? Because of all the work, all the heartbreak, the losses we’ve had together. You don’t want to win – you can if you have to – but you don’t want to win with new people. You want to win with the people that was with you from Day 1, when I was sitting at the table with you, when you were skinny, when you didn’t have no food and were hungry.
“Those are the people you want to, when you finally make it in life, you want to celebrate with.”
Outside of the on-court battles, Brown has been a key factor in the community in Boston. The 26-year-old is already seeing Boston as his home of the future, and his team to be.
“I mean, it’s home,” Brown said of Boston in his interview with NBC Sports Boston. “I’ve been here longer than I’ve been anywhere in my entire life, I’ve been here eight years now and growing, I’m a part of the community. My family’s a part of the community. I’m part of the solutions. I just want to help, I just want to build. I just want to make the world a better place. And that’s what I’ve been trying to do here.”
“It’s probably more daunting to live up to it off the court,” he said. “I hold myself to the pedigree of being one of the athletes that uses his platform to invest in his community, to build things that last forever, that can help people long after I’m gone. So, the challenges around that are more daunting than on the court.”
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