Jaylen Brown was picked 3rd overall in this year’s NBA draft, and Jae Crowder loves it. The two Georgia natives both play small forward, and Jae has served as a mentor to the rookie forward out of Cal. Also, the two have hit it off with each other. Crowder loves Brown and vice versa.
Crowder spoke with ESPN’s Chris Forsberg on the topic:
“He’s everything that I wanted to be at that age,” said Crowder. “He’s very mature, beyond his years. He’ll have a conversation with you about anything. I like that, personally. I don’t always want to talk about basketball. I want a guy that I can go be at home with and just chill and talk about anything. He loves music, just like me. He’s into music, he makes beats and stuff like that. I just wanted to get to know him a little bit more.”
The two seem to be two peas in a pod with each other. They both have similar play styles, and it will be good for Brown to learn under Crowder. Brown also spoke with ESPN about Crowder, even calling him his “big bro:”
“Jae Crowder, he’s like my big bro,” said Brown. “I hung out with him a lot this weekend, and he’s been pulling me aside [in practice] and talking to me. He’s a great dude. I appreciate him for being around and giving me advice. A lot of times people don’t reach out to do that, especially for somebody in my position. For Jae Crowder to be such a mentor and a person that’s just super cool, man — it’s like, instantly, he’s one of my favorite people to deal with.”
Added Brown: “[Crowder has] been around the league for a long time. I feel like you can learn a lot from anybody. I could learn a lot from Avery [Bradley], I can learn a lot from Al Horford, Isaiah Thomas. But Jae Crowder, because he does play my position and he’s from Georgia as well, so we kinda see things in the same light. It just makes it that much more surreal. He actually played for my same AAU team back in the day. So we have an even bigger connection like that. We kinda see eye-to-eye and he’s a good dude.”
These two clearly have a connection on a personal level as well as on the court. Brown has the potential to be an excellent player in the league, and Crowder is the perfect mentor for him. They may be good friends already, but Crowder will not hesitate to push Brown and make sure that he is the best that he can possibly be.
