Threat of jail, a job at NASA and the most expensive contract: the story of the NBA MVP

The 27-year-old player will try to win his first ring in the North American league, but in addition to standing on the field, he has a unique life story.

Before becoming one of the figures of the NBA, before signing the most expensive contract in the history of the most important basketball league in the world and before reaching the final where he won his first ring, he was chosen MVP ( Most Valuable Player ) and made Boston Celtics winningest franchise, Jaylen Brown They threatened him that he would go to jail.

In April 2014, two years before being picked third in the Draft, when he remembered that fact: “My teacher said he was going to find me in Cobb County Jail for 5 years… Wow”. However, now that he is one of the world’s basketball stars, he reflects on that episode that shows his unique perspective from most athletes: “Sometimes, because the education system is so difficult, especially in Georgia, the teachers have too many kids and too little help. I don’t blame one of them.”

Raised in Marietta, Georgia, one of the areas with the most difficult economy, he received a scholarship that allowed him to excel at the University of California, Berkeley, where he jumped to the NBA. But there he not only practiced the sport that made him famous, but he also became famous in chess.

By mid-2023 it was news because He signed a five-year contract in exchange for 304 million dollars and became the most expensive in the history of the league.because it surpassed the set record Denver Nuggets last summer when the link was renewed at Nikola Jokicalso for five seasons, but at a cost of US$270 million.

One of the facets that others highlight most about Brown is his intelligence. In fact, before being drafted, one NBA assistant general manager said he was “too smart” for the league and another added: “Because he’s so smart, he might be intimidating to some teams.. “He wants to know why you’re doing something instead of just doing it.”.

Despite these criticisms, the Celtics still added him and he restored their confidence in good sports results. Also, the description of his intellect is not wrong, because he finished his high school studies with one of the best averages, studied a master’s degree, several disciplines such as yoga and philosophy, and Even NASA offered him an internship, as he was a member of MIT’s media laboratories (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for its acronym in Spanish) and the youngest ever to give a lecture at Harvard.

Jaylen Brown’s role as a social activist

His interests go beyond what is happening in sport and on several occasions he has proven to be an activist against racism and social inequality. Following the May 25, 2020, killing of George Floyd by police brutality, which inspired Black Lives Matter, Brown joined the march in his native Georgia.

“When I grew up and went to the University of California I learned about the subtler racism and how it permeates our education system through divided study groups, hidden curricula, social stratification and something I didn’t know then. I was shocked, because one of the most subtle but aggressive forms of racism is our education system”he said earlier.

He is so involved that even in 2019 he became a member of the MIT Media Lab and together with the university created the Bridge Program to advise black youth and students who wish to pursue careers related to science, technology, engineering or mathematics.