Jaylen Brown pays respects to history with number change


You may have thought Celtics' rookie Jaylen Brown was going to don the number nine this season, but the swingman has a new plan. After Jared Sullinger signed elsewhere, Brown took the chance to claim the number he's been eyeing for a while, via Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe:

“I had limited options to start with because a lot of [the Celtics’] numbers are retired,” Brown said. “No. 7 has always been my favorite number. It’s a spiritual number. It’s a divine number I’ve always liked. So when it became available to me, it was the number I wanted to wear. And with the Dee Brown thing, it was Brown 7, so I had to do a tribute while I was here to pay homage,” said Brown, who was born 5½ years after the 1991 dunk contest.


Dee Brown played with Boston for nearly eight years, from 1990 to 1998, and his career was punctuated by that 1991 slam dunk contest win. A career that Jaylen hopes he can emulate:

"I remember Dee Brown in the dunk contest when he covered his eyes and he played with the Celtics and he could shoot the long ball. I remember who he was."


Jaylen averaged 16 PPG in the Summer League, and showed a glimpse of some range throughout play. Plus, the athleticism is there which means Celtics fans might see another Boston Brown competing for the slam dunk title in the next few years. If he does, 90's C's fans won't have to worry about buying new gear to rep the rookie.

Follow Topher Lane on Twitter, @Topher_L. Photo credit: Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images