As a core member of the reigning NBA championship Boston Celtics squad — and recipient of both the conference and finals MVP honors last season — Jaylen Brown is considered one of the best professional basketball players in the world. Brown is not only a supremely effective offensive threat, with a great shot, the ability to drive to the basket and amazing athleticism but also a strong defender as well.
While Brown’s training regimen, which naturally consists of practicing his on-court skills, weight training and cardio are important to his continued success, one training element which has been surprisingly helpful for the 28-year-old shooting guard is incorporating Muay Thai (AKA Thai kickboxing) into his routine.
Brown says training in Muay Thai helped him become a better basketball player in that it improved his balance, flexibility and staying fixed in smaller positions for a longer period of time but also because it challenged his body in new ways.
“I just started doing Muay Thai for about a year now,” Brown told Men’s Health in a video interview. “I just wanted to challenge myself in a different way, challenge my body; it’s being great for opening up my hips, which is great for defense, but also being able to stay low, have a greater balance, and be able to stay in smaller positions for longer periods of time. Muay Thai, the flexibility of it, also fighters train harder, also being able to incorporate that into my mind and my body has been great.”
What do you think of the fact that Jaylen Brown says training in Muay Thai helped him become a better basketball player? Do you think that more basketball players should incorporate unconventional training methods such as Muay Thai into their preparatory basketball routine or that it’s case specific to certain, athletic players like Celtics star Jaylen Brown? Let us know in the comments.
