After nabbing a season-high 44 points, Jaylen Brown shared his post-game interview with fellow 741 athlete Payton Pritchard. The Celtics teammates are both signed to Brown’s new shoe line and they came up big for the Celtics in the 142-105 win over Indiana last night.
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During the presser, JB took a page out of Michael Jordan’s book while speaking to the media, crediting his and Pritchard’s strong performances to their 741 sneakers.
“It gives you a little bit, like in 2K, it gives you a couple points overall in quickness, rebounding, you know?” Pritchard said about the 741 ‘Rover’. “I think I had two offensive rebounds in a row. Maybe, if I’m not rocking the shoes, I don’t have that quicker bounce.”
Brown, who owns and operates the 741 line himself, was happy to take the credit. “If Payton gets a dunk this season, it’s definitely the shoes,” the 2024 Finals MVP added.
Payton Pritchard on him and Jaylen Brown wearing 741’s tonight:
“I think I had two offensive rebounds, maybe if I’m not rocking the shoes, I don’t have that quicker bounce.”
Jaylen Brown adds if Pritchard dunks this season, it’s the shoes pic.twitter.com/4U3lNykoMO
— Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzell) December 28, 2024
Fans might have picked up on the language JB used there. It’s reminiscent of Spike Lee’s iconic Air Jordan commercial from 1989. In the ad, Lee, playing the character of Mars Blackmon, asks Michael Jordan what makes him the best player in the universe. He lists out many of MJ’s iconic attributes, from his haircut to his shorts, before finally concluding, “It’s gotta be the shoes!”
Brown must be delighted to host such comparisons for his brand new sneaker line. There isn’t a better promotion out there than a dominant performance. While wearing the Rovers, Pritchard poured in 18 points, 10 assists and 8 rebounds off the bench. JB, along with his 40-piece, also nabbed 4 steals, 3 assists and 5 rebounds while shooting 66.7% from the field.
Jaylen Brown set up 741 to pave the way for future athletes
After announcing the sneaker line this off-season, JB released his first signature shoe, the ‘Rover’, in late September. As excited as he was to get his brand off the ground, the 28-year-old explained that his marker for success was never going to be commercial.
He doesn’t expect 741 to become the next Air Jordan. For Brown, the desire to create his own line was born from a growing frustration with the homogeneity of modern endorsement deals. “I’m just kind of tired of seeing the same old things, the deals constructed the same way,” he told The Athletic.
Jaylen was signed with Adidas from 2016 to 2021, but after his initial deal expired, the Celtics star found himself in sneaker free agency for an extended period of time. Many, including Brown himself, believed that he was being blacklisted for his public criticism of how certain brands operate.
Nike, in particular, found itself in a war of words with the UCB alum. He criticized the multi-billion dollar company for dropping Kyrie Irving when he faced criticism for his comments in 2022. “Since when did Nike care about ethics?” Brown tweeted out, beginning a long-winded battle that JB believes was the reason for his snubbing from the 2024 Olympics roster.
Instead of negotiating with these monolithic multi-national companies, Brown decided to control his own future by setting up 741. “So hopefully in the next 20 years, even if this isn’t like super successful, that it sparks other athletes, other creators to have the courage to start to build stuff on their own,” he explained. Well, if Payton Pritchard nabs an in-season dunk in the 741 Rovers, it will certainly go a long way in solidifying the brand’s legacy.
