Jaylen Brown reflects on ‘amazing’ Abu Dhabi experience with Celtics originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets helped grow the sport of basketball and the NBA brand in Abu Dhabi this week by playing two preseason games and participating in several events.
Jaylen Brown has helped lead the charge in those efforts, and he put on a show Sunday in the second of the two preseason matchups.
The reigning NBA Finals MVP led all scorers with 21 points on 8-of-16 shooting, along with three assists and one rebound in 23 minutes as Boston cruised to an impressive 130-104 victory at Etihad Arena.
brown spoke with Chris Forsberg postgame of NBC Sports Boston about what the experience in Abu Dhabi meant to him.
“I think it’s been amazing, globalizing the sport,” Brown said, as seen in the video player above. “Obviously, the Middle East is working on a bunch of projects to bring sports and entertainment to this area.
“So the fact that we can be here and have fun and bring the game together to different places in the world, I think that’s the beauty of sports – to be able to bring places together. So a bunch of people under one roof watching the game enjoying it, I think it’s all good spirit.”
Brown enjoys playing a role in helping to grow the sport to different areas around the world, including the Middle East.
“I spent some time here,” Brown told Forsberg. “So to me, it’s personal and I enjoy and I appreciate all the people I’ve been able to make connections with here in the Middle East. Here in Abu Dhabi and Riyadh and Bahrain, also Qatar and other places as well. So as I continue to grow, being like an ambassador for the sport is something I’m looking forward to being.”
Brown, as a huge football fan, was excited to meet Arsenal legend Thierry Henry, as well as Barcelona legends Ronaldinho and Gerard Pique, while the Celtics were in Abu Dhabi. It was a great experience for the C star.
“I mean, first of all, Thierry Henry and Ronaldinho are my favorite players of all time, so to have them both here, both wearing Celtic gear and both taking pictures of me was crazy,” Brown said. “And Gerard Pique, I grew up as a Barcelona fan before one of my mentors converted me to Arsenal. But Pique is a legend – one of the greatest defenders of all time.
“These are people I grew up inspired by. So to have them all together wearing the Celtics jerseys and all taking pictures with me, it was like — the little kid inside me was as happy as I can be.”
Brown and the Celtics will fly home to Boston and have almost a week to rest and prepare for their next preseason game, which is scheduled for Saturday, October 12 against the Philadelphia 76ers at TD Garden.
