On this day: Jaylen Brown, R.J. Hunter born; Tom Boswell debuts
On this day in Boston Celtics history, forward Jaylen Brown was born in Marietta, Georgia in 1996. Brown would play collegiately at the University of California-Berkeley for the Golden Bears, where he won Pac-12 Freshman of the Year honors in 2016.
He would be taken by the Celtics with the third overall pick in that year’s NBA draft, making his NBA debut for the team on October 26th, scoring nine points and blocking two shots. The Georgia native would make the All-Rookie Second Team at the end of his inaugural season. The Georgia native did not hire an agent initially upon joining the NBA.
Brown instead relied on his personal network for counsel until it was time to negotiate a rookie extension.
Brown’s intellectual and social justice interests off the court have set him apart as a special player in the eyes of his peers and fans as much as his remarkable play on it has, and he continues to put in work both on and off the court with the Celtics.
He has since taken on leadership roles like a Vice Presidency in the National Basketball Players Association and the fight for racial equity with his 7uice Foundation, and — on the court — made his first of two All-Star teams in 2020-21.
It is also the birthday of former Celtic shooting guard RJ Hunter, born this day in 1993 in Oxford, Ohio.
An alum of Georgia State University — where his father coached — Hunter earned Sun Belt Player of the Year honors in 2014 and 2015 before being selected by Boston 28th overall in the 2015 NBA draft.
Finally, it is also the date of the debut of forward Tom Boswell, which came in a 109-94 win over the Houston Rockets in 1975.
The South Carolina product — Boston’s No. 17 pick in that year’s draft — would go scoreless in 2 minutes of floor time.
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