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“The worst thing you can do is panic. That’s in the water, but that’s also in life.”
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Three years ago, after the Celtics lost to the Heat in the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals, Jaylen Brown encountered one of the defining stretches of his career.
The Celtics had an opportunity to complete the biggest comeback in NBA history and they had squandered it with a loss to Miami at TD Garden. Jayson Tatum got hurt early, Brown had a career-high eight turnovers, and they were eliminated by a Heat team that almost got swept by the Denver Nuggets in the Finals.
Brown took accountability for his struggles and came back stronger. The Celtics broke through and won the Finals the following year. Brown was named Finals MVP.
One of the things that helped Brown navigate that stretch and deal with the pressure was his underwater training regimen. In a recent profile written by ESPN’s Ramona Shelbourne, Brown said “it’s like basically training yourself to drown.” He treated it as an unorthodox way to learn how to manage himself under pressure.
“It’s a way to mentally learn how to deal with anxiety,” Brown said. “You get comfortable with it. … The worst thing you can do is panic. That’s in the water, but that’s also in life.”
“If you panic in the water, you drown faster. So the water teaches you to relax when you’re in that fight or flight, to just relax.”
He didn’t do it alone. He called surfing legend Laird Hamilton for guidance on underwater training, specifically dealing with oxygen deprivation. Hamilton and his wife Gabrielle Reece have a facility in Los Angeles where they train athletes.
Reece called Brown a “mental giant,” highlighting his ability to pick things up quickly.
In an effort to simulate what it feels like to be pulled underwater by a big wave, Brown began incorporating drills that called for him to sink to the bottom of a pool with heavy weights before jumping out of the water.
It doesn’t look fun, Celtics forward Jordan Walsh said, but it has been effective.
“I’ve seen him in the pool doing his workout and he kind of sounds like a dolphin,” Walsh said. “He goes straight up and down to the deep end with the weights. He advised that I try it a few times and I’m like, ‘JB, that looks like torture. I’m not sure that’s for me.’ But maybe I should because clearly it’s working for him.”
Brown has enjoyed a career-year, averaging 28.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 5.2 assists, helping the Celtics clinch a playoff berth. They are second in the Eastern Conference with four games to go, and new playoff adventures lie ahead.
The Celtics stayed afloat when adversity hit this season. Tatum missed most of the year. The front office restructured the roster. The challenge of winning with a new group was real, especially early on.
Khari A. Thompson
Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com. Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.
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