Celtics’ Jaylen Brown Credits Lakers Legend As Motivation for New Project

May 14, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) drives to the basket in the second half during game five of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs against the New York Knicks at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images | Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images

A Los Angeles Lakers legend inspired a Boston Celtics All-Star? Has hell frozen over?

Nope, that's just the kind of influence 18-time All-Star former Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant had on Jaylen Brown's generation.

Bryant's Everlasting Impact on the Next Generation Extends Beyond the Court

Now, the four-time All-Star and 2024 Finals MVP has revealed just how much Bryant galvanized a fresh off-the-court Brown project.

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During an interview on V-103 Atlanta (as shared by Bobby Krivitsky of Forbes), Brown gave props to Bryant for not only being "one of the reasons I picked up a ball," but also as a major inspiration for his decision to create his own sportswear brand, 741 Performance.

The 6-foot-6 UC Berkeley product now rocks a signature sneaker of his own, "The Rover," on the hardwood.

In his appearance on V-103 Atlanta, Jaylen Brown said that Kobe wrote an article about wanting to offer athletes better deals with higher percentages. That inspired Brown to launch @741Performance

"A little easter egg in my shoe, the 'Rover,' is that the midsole is very similar… pic.twitter.com/glvSpDpjre

— Bobby Krivitsky (@BobbyKrivitsky) September 11, 2025

"Hearing somebody's voice, hearing somebody speaking life into you, letting them know that they [are] with you — all this type of stuff is like, you know, kind of what people relied on me for," Brown said of Bryant's impact.

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"I [had] seen an article he [Bryant] put out, where he wanted to give athletes better deals and better percentages, and I just happened to stumble upon that article, and it was inspiring to me," Brown noted. "I kind of just wanted to follow in his light and kind of do the same thing. So, I turned down a bunch of deals, started my own brand, looking to give athletes better percentages and better deals."

Brown revealed that The Rover's design included a special tribute to Bryant's iconic Nike signature line.

"A little easter egg in my shoe, the 'Rover,' is that the midsole is very similar to a Kobe midsole," Brown revealed. "I just wanted to infuse that just because Kobe was infused in a lot of the reasoning why I wanted to even do this."

In 2025-26, Brown will take the reigns of Boston's offense from Jayson Tatum by default. The six-time All-Star power forward tore his Achilles in the second round of this past spring's playoffs, and will likely miss most or all of the season recovering. Brown, the club's second-leading score, will take on even more of a burden.

His jump shooting beyond the 3-point arc was a bit shaky last season, and he quietly underwent an offseason surgery of his own. Brown has understandably come under fire for his inconsistent ball handling abilities, too. It will be fascinating to see how far Boston goes with him at the helm.

In 63 healthy games for the 61-21 Celtics last year, the 28-year-old averaged 22.2 points on .463/.324/.764 shooting splits, 5.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists a night.

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