Jaylen Brown is one of the many professional athletes who observe Ramadan while playing in the NBA. This means athletes observing Ramadan will practice fasting from sunrise to sunset and not consume food or water during that period. Ramadan is an auspicious month for many who observe this holy practice. Brown recently chimed in on his experience of the same during a postgame interview with NBC Sports Boston.
Advertisement
Brown spoke in solidarity with many other athletes who participate in Ramadan, saying this time of the year helps players understand their strengths, focus, and receive clarity about themselves. He considers the holy month a special time of the year in which he participates, falling in line with millions who observe this ritual.
When a reporter asked about the difficulties in observing this practice, Brown answered,
“I don’t think it’s difficult at all. I think people have a lot more difficulties in different parts of the world where they don’t have the same blessings or the same opportunities or the same privileges I have.”
After Celtics beat reporter Bobby Manning posted Brown’s response on X (formerly Twitter), the fans were quite amazed at the Celtics star’s determination to live up to his faith. One fan wished Jaylen Brown would become a community engagement leader after his retirement,
“I love this man so much. I truly hope he becomes some sort of community leader or professor or something when he retires (after winning multiple championships of course).”
Another fan, who seems extremely enamored by Brown’s response, wrote, “He is a good man!”
This fan thinks that Brown’s response was a shot at Kyrie Irving, who had described Ramadan as nothing short of a miracle. They wrote, “Shot at Kyrie ? Kyrie said it’s nothing short of a miracle lol.”
NBA players have always been on their umpteen potential while observing Ramadan
Like Jaylen Brown, the NBA had a history of great players playing at the highest level while participating in the holy month of Ramadan. One such player was the Houston Rockets legend Hakeem Olajuwon.
Despite fasting from sunrise to sunset, the Dream was putting up numbers, averaging between 37 to 40 points per game during Ramadan. Olajuwon even won a Player of the Month award in 1995 while observing the holy ritual at that time.
In the recent history of the NBA, Kyrie Irving has been most vocal about observing Ramadan while playing in the league. When the Dallas Mavericks star was recently asked about the same, Irving told ESPN that he regarded this as his ‘journey with god’ and the path that he is on. Fans have famously dubbed Irving as ‘Ramadan Kyrie,’ mainly due to his scoring outbursts despite fasting during games.
