Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown took an unconventional approach to leadership this season, diving deep into astrology, Chinese zodiac signs, and numerology to better understand his teammates and sharpen how he communicates with each of them.
In a recent interview, Brown revealed that he spent time learning the personal and cosmic profiles of every player on the roster, tailoring his conversations and interactions based on what he discovered. It was a process, he explained, that grew out of curiosity and a genuine desire to bring out the best in the people around him.
“I learned a lot about each and every one of our guys, like even down to like you know astrology, even down to like you know everything,” Brown said. “I learned kind of like communication styles that work best for each individual and started like utilizing that when I speak to you know each and every guy. So it definitely, you know, I didn’t know if it would work before the season started, but you know, that stuff definitely works.”
When asked if he made flashcards to keep track of all the information, Brown laughed off the suggestion, explaining that he simply committed everything to memory. And the details he rattled off were remarkably specific.
He noted that teammate Neemi falls under the Chinese zodiac’s year of the rabbit, while Derrick White and Hugo both fall under the year of the dog. Peyton and Jayson Tatum are tigers, Ron and Joe are dragons, and newcomer Nikola was identified as being in the year of the horse.
“Neemi, he’s year of the rabbit, so his communication is different from D-White. D-White’s year of the dog. So his communication style is different. Hugo’s also a dog. Peyton’s a tiger. JT’s a tiger. Ron is a dragon. Joe’s a dragon. Nikola, he’s new to our team. He’s year of the horse right now. Each of those have different communication styles,” Brown said.
He did not stop at the Chinese zodiac. Brown also explored numerology, noting that teammate Sam and he share the same life path number of five, and he even factored in traditional star signs. Tatum, for example, is a Pisces, a detail Brown said he factored into how he approached conversations with him.
“You can go into like numerology as well, like Sam is a five. I’m a five. So you know different breakdowns and then you can also go into like star signs. JT’s a Pisces. So I learned all of that different type of stuff and I was able to like communicate to guys in different ways that kind of helped with my leadership this year,” he said.
The inspiration, Brown explained, came from people in his personal circle who were already enthusiastic about these practices and encouraged him to give it a try.
“I had some, what you could say, some friends that kind of are who are into that stuff and that kind of suggested it,” he said. “You see, try it, see if it works, and everybody has a different kind of makeup of who they are and how they approach things. And if you learn a little bit about each person, kind of what makes them tick, you can kind of learn more about, you know, how to maximize potential. So, you know, all that type of stuff, like, added up over the course of the season. And here we are.”
For those unfamiliar with numerology, Brown offered a brief explanation: “Numerology is like a combination of your numbers.”
