BOSTON — Before the Celtics’ season started, Jaylen Brown decided he wanted to get to know his teammates on a deeper level to figure out how to lead them best. He’d long played alongside guys like Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, and Sam Hauser, but now he was eager to better understand what made them tick and how he could communicate with them as effectively as possible.
For Joe Mazzulla, Brown’s relentless pursuit of that question was apparent from the beginning of the year.
“Jaylen’s approach to leadership this year has been getting to know his teammates – understanding how to push his teammates’ buttons, how to understand them better, how to communicate with them better,” Mazzulla said. “It’s something that he’s taken very seriously, his leadership off the court.”
But, the behind the scenes of that process may surprise people. In addition to the time Brown spent simply getting to know his teammates, this year, he also opted to learn and memorize their Chinese and Western zodiac signs, and numerology.
For those unfamiliar, zodiac signs are personality traits based on birth timing. Chinese zodiac signs are based on birth year, and are represented by an animal that indicates one’s personality, while Western zodiac signs are based on birth date, on the position of the sun at the time of one’s birth.
After the Celtics 120-99 win over the Golden State Warriors, when asked about his approach to leadership this season, Brown rattled off each of his teammates’ zodiac signs.
“Neemi, he’s Year of the Rabbit,” he said. “So, his communication is different from D-White, who is Year of the Dog. So, his communication style is different. Hugo is also a Dog. Payton is a Tiger. JT is a Tiger. Ron is a Dragon. Joe’s a Dragon. Nikola, he’s new to our team — he’s Year of the Horse. It’s Year of the Horse right now.”
For those wondering, according to Chinese astrology, here’s the significance behind each of those signs:
- Rabbits (like Neemias Queta) are gentle and empathetic,
- Dogs (like Derrick White and Hugo Gonzalez) are generous, warm, and easygoing.
- Tigers (like Jayson Tatum and Payton Pritchard) are confident and competitive.
- Dragons (like Ron Harper Jr and Joe Mazzulla) are powerful and ambitious.
- Horses (like Nikola Vucevic) are energetic and free-spirited
So, after he learned each teammate’s sign, Brown took it into account when figuring out how to best communicate with them.
“I started utilizing that when I speak to each and every guy,” Brown said. “I didn’t know if it would work before the season started, but that stuff definitely works.”
In addition to Chinese zodiac signs, Brown learned his teammates’ Western zodiac signs. He shared, for example, that Tatum is a Pisces (because his March 3rd birthday falls between February 19th and March 20th). Pisces, according to Western astrology, are known for being empathetic, highly intuitive, and emotionally sensitive.
“I learned communication styles that work best for each individual,” Brown said.
Brown also studied numerology, a belief system that assigns meaning to numbers, especially those connected to one’s birth date and name. Brown and Sam Hauser, for example, are both fives. (In numerology, the number 5 is all about freedom, change, and adventure; those who have a life path 5 hate feeling restricted).
Brown said he got inspired to go down this path after a few friends put it on his radar before the season. And, he feels like the results have been fruitful.
“They kind of suggested it — try to see if it works,” Brown said. “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, what makes them tick, you can kind of learn more about how to maximize potential. All that type of stuff added up over the course of the season. And here we are.”
