Jaylen Brown (born October 24, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played one year of college basketball for the California Golden Bears, being named first-team All-Pac-12 and Pac-12 Freshman of the Year. Declaring for the 2016 NBA draft after that season, he was selected by the Celtics with the third overall pick. As a professional, he has split his time between shooting guard and small forward.
Brown attended Joseph Wheeler High School in Marietta, Georgia. As a senior, he helped lead his team to victory in the Georgia High School Association (GHSA) AAAAAA state championship. With 0.6 seconds remaining, Brown hit two free throws to give Wheeler a 59–58 win. As a senior, Brown averaged 28 points and 12 rebounds while leading Wheeler to a 30–3 overall record.
Brown was rated a five-star recruit and ranked by Scout.com, ESPN, and 247Sports.com as the fourth best recruit in his class behind Ben Simmons, Skal Labissière, and Brandon Ingram. Rivals.com ranked him third in his class.