I'm not trying to be different. To me, I'm just being myself.
Jaylen Brown
In life, if you stay quiet, you'll get left behind. So I had to learn to be more vocal and outgoing.
Embarrassment is where growth happens.
People will come at me telling me to wear this or wear that. If I don't like it, I don't like it. They couldn't pay me to wear it. If it's something I can rock with, I'll rock it. I'm more interested in being completely authentic to me. In my opinion, being myself is making a statement.
I'm overly confident. I believe in myself 100 percent. I believe in my game, and I believe in my work ethic.
Some people think racism has dissipated or no longer exists. But it's hidden in more strategic places.
I'm strong enough to guard the big guys and have enough heart to lock them down.
The chips fall into place, but the educational experience I had at Cal, second to none.
I hate taking pills. Like, I probably haven't taken a pill in over 10 years.
I think it's becoming cool to have mental toughness or to meditate. It's a thing, but I don't think people really understand the value of it.
Often, everybody is comfortable with their role in life, and they forget about the people who are uncomfortable.
I'm just going to keep working to show people what I can do.
I don't want to come into a situation like the NBA and have to develop for two or three years. When I come in, I want to be a superstar.
So basketball has always taken me places that I could have never imagined.
Who's to say because you're just a basketball player, or you are a basketball player, who's to say you can't chime in on other subjects or other important topics?
Jae Crowder, he's like my big bro.
I learned to play chess at a young age, and I think that's where learning to plan things out and put things in position, that was the best thing for me.
LeBron's a good player, but I look at him as just a regular guy to me.
There's bigger threats in my neighborhood than LeBron James, so I have no fear whatsoever of LeBron.
I try not to think about the things I can't control.
At Berkeley, you wore a hoodie and pajamas and Birkenstocks, and that's swag. I was so thrown off. What I thought was cool wasn't cool no more, so I thought about what I actually liked. I started experimenting. I started wearing Birkenstocks. I wanted to dive into the culture.
There's this idea of America that some people have to win and some have to lose, so certain things are in place to make this happen. Some people have to be the next legislators and political elites, and some have to fill the prisons and work in McDonald's. That's how America works. It's a machine which needs people up top and people down low.
I really like black. I love wearing black, different aesthetics and shades. I like earth tones. Those are my go-tos.
I'm not really worried about anybody or anything. I think I have a lot to offer. It's just, with your rookie year, your body, it's just a lot. It may seem foolish, all those dunks and stuff: they look cool, but it takes a toll on your body, for sure.
Before you can lead anybody else, you gotta put yourself in the right position to be successful.
I think that's kind of who I am. I just try to be vocal and try to lead by example.
Athletes aren't allowed to have an opinion. It's tough. Athletes are evolving right in front of our eyes. You see athletes who are politicians, etc., and still, we're told to shut up and dribble.
A lot of people didn't know why I went to Cal. The Bay Area, Silicon Valley, I wanted to put myself in that position where I'm not only successful on the court but off the court.
I'm just trying to be the best basketball player, the best student, the best son, friend, etcetera. I'm just trying to get better in every facet.
I don't have any fear of failure whatsoever. I used to, and I told myself I wouldn't allow myself to anymore.
I've taken thousands of shots in the corner. It's all mental. That's all it comes down to, is to be ready, wait for your opportunity, and execute.
I disagree that an athlete can't be intelligent. Some people think that, in basketball, we have a bunch of masculine adults who don't know how to control themselves. They're feeble-minded and can't engage or articulate ideas. That's a narrative they keep trying to paint.
I just think Trump's character and some of his values makes him unfit to lead. For someone like him to be president and in charge of our troops? It's scary, to be honest.
If I want any shot at getting on the floor, I gotta know what I'm doing defensively.
I'm emotionally and physically ready for anything.
I had attached my life to basketball so closely that it made me physically ill.
I just try to be respectful of everybody.
I would go to games like I go to dinner. If I come and wear something crazy, I'm just trying to be myself.
One of the most subtle but aggressive ways racism exists is through our education system.
Reading is looked at like it's corny or lame, but you'd be surprised what you can find in a book.
When I got to Cal, they tried to put me in safe classes, things I could succeed at. I went to Cal for an education. That's definitely problematic. You see athletes taking majors that don't add up to anything.
A lot of players get to a certain point they don't want to make mistakes. They just want everyone to see how great they are. That ends up being their downfall. You put a cap on yourself.
Everything is educational.
I want to understand everything so I can put myself in a position to be successful.
When I open my mouth and talk, sometimes people say they are amazed of my intellect. I don't know if that's because I truly speak in a way that people can understand or feel a certain way, or because they don't expect it. I don't know. That's something I am curious about.
Athletes have all the influence in the world. Everyone wants to hear what you have to say.
More people care about LeBron James than some religious leader.
Sports and education, I think they overlap.
At the end of the day, basketball is basketball. You've got a whole life to live.
You've got athletes who are politicians, venture capitalists, musicians, rappers, etcetera. It's becoming more of a popular thing to have other interests outside of basketball, and I think that's normal. Just like when people work day jobs, they have interest in sports, they do investments, they do all these other types of things.
