‘Extraordinarily motivated’ Jaylen Brown addresses Olympic snub
‘Extraordinarily motivated’ Jaylen Brown addresses Olympic snub initially appeared on NBC Sports activities Boston
Even after main the Boston Celtics to a championship and incomes NBA Finals MVP honors, Jaylen Brown enters the 2024-25 season with a chip on his shoulder.
Brown was oddly left off Group USA’s roster for the 2024 Paris Olympics in favor of C’s teammate Derrick White. Though the three-time All-Star did not publicly open up concerning the snub within the offseason, he expressed his frustration by means of cryptic feedback and social media posts.
There was no avoiding the Olympic drama Tuesday at Celtics Media Day. With the primary query at his press convention, Brown was requested whether or not he is carrying his emotions concerning the Olympic snub into the brand new season.
“Query primary? Did not get to heat up slightly? S–t,” Brown stated with amusing.
“I am able to go. I am enthusiastic about being again. The previous is the previous, however I am able to get after it, lead our guys, construct some staff chemistry, not skip any steps, and simply set the tone for an additional 12 months once more. I am extraordinarily motivated for apparent causes, and I am able to get after it.”
The Olympic snub wasn’t the one motivator for Brown. The 27-year-old missed out on All-Defensive and All-NBA honors regardless of having arguably the perfect season of his profession on each ends of the ground.
Throughout NBC Sports activities Boston’s Celtics Media Day particular, Brown admitted to utilizing these snubs as gasoline.
“I’d be mendacity if I say I did not,” Brown advised hosts Eddie Home, Kayla Burton, and Marc D’Amico. “As a competitor, you are at all times in search of any key identifiers that might allow you to be motivated, keep motivated, and add to that chip in your shoulder. I am that sort of man already. I am at all times in search of one thing. However when issues do not go your method or when these voices get louder, it makes you get up much more to drive and be higher.
“So I am excited to get again going with the fellows. I am excited to start out the brand new 12 months. Despite the fact that I did all that touring, that is most likely – I say it yearly – that is the toughest I most likely ever labored.”
As if the additional motivation for Brown is not scary sufficient for the remainder of the league, his Celtics co-star Jayson Tatum additionally has a chip on his shoulder because of Group USA. Tatum was benched for 2 out of six video games on the Olympics, and whereas that was a difficult expertise for him, C’s head coach Joe Mazzulla was thrilled realizing that his famous person could be even hungrier coming off an NBA title.
“In actual time, it was powerful, however I talked to Joe rather a lot,” Tatum stated on Tuesday. “Joe was most likely the happiest particular person on this planet, that I did not win Finals MVP, and that I did not play in two of the video games of the Olympics.”
The Celtics are coming off a historic 64-18 season that was topped off by a dominant playoff run. It’s going to be tough to duplicate that success with a goal on their again, nevertheless it positive does not sound like complacency will likely be a problem for Boston on its quest for a repeat.
Watch Brown’s full unique interview with NBC Sports activities Boston’s Celtics Media Day panel beneath or on YouTube:
