Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown finds peace of mind in Bahrain

It is common to see NBA players vacation in the offseason in Mexico, the Caribbean and popular European destinations to unwind. Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown is far from common.

This past offseason, the 2024 NBA Finals Most Valuable Player decided to rest his body and mind in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

“I went there just for privacy, peace of mind,” Brown, 28, told Andscape. “Just also to learn about different places in the world, just exploring, making relationships with their foundations, exploring relationships through the game. You can help develop other areas.

“I had never been there before. It’s like a small island, not too far off the coast of the UAE [United Arab Emirates], not too far from Dubai and Qatar. I just enjoyed it. I spent the summer away outside of the U.S. [It was a] Different experience for me. It kind of opens your eyes to different parts of the world.”

Bahrain is an island country in West Asia located in the Persian Gulf between the Qatar Peninsula and the northeastern coast of Saudi Arabia. During the NBA offseason, Brown spent about two months in Manama, the capital of Bahrain.

Brown, who will suit up for the Celtics today against their Eastern Conference rival New York Knicks on ABC (1 p.m. ET), had never been to Bahrain before last offseason. But after making one short trip after winning the 2024 NBA title with the Celtics, he loved it so much that he went back. He enjoyed his privacy being respected, meeting some of the country’s brightest minds, and the beauty and culture during his lengthy stay in Manama.

“I learned a lot. I learned about their ethics, the values,” Brown said. It’s a lot different from the U.S. Just different things that they emphasize are different than the things that the U.S. emphasizes. They definitely have a culture that they want to maintain and I respect it…

“The most beautiful part was all of it was the views, being in the water. It’s not too far from Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The whole experience was nice.”

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Brown also prepared for the 2024-25 NBA season while working out in Bahrain. The four-time NBA All-Star took part in basketball workouts in an arena used in the 13-team Bahraini Premier League. Renowned shooting coach Chris “Lethal Shooter” Matthews spent a week in Manama working out Brown, who was photographed working out dribbling a basketball under water while holding a 40-pound weight in the other hand.

Matthews said he has worked Brown out all over America as well as in Spain, England and now Bahrain. But of all the global trips he has made over the last five years, Matthews said none was more special than his trip to Bahrain with Brown.

Matthews was amazed by the beauty and technology of Bahrain and said he appreciated the mental enrichment, care, growth and business acumen he gained from being around Brown.

“Jaylen is a well-rounded young man,” Matthews told Andscape. “It’s not just about basketball with him. Me as a trainer, he elevated my mind. I’m going hard as a trainer and then he says, ‘Did you check in with your kids and wife?’ He cares about you as a person. That’s why I love him. He’s also not self-centered. He was about empowering me and my brand. Putting me in position to win.

“He’s an NBA player helping me with ideas to help my family. He helped me as a person. I consider him one of my best friends. When I was around him, it’s not just about basketball with him. It’s about life.”

On July 6, 2024, Brown and former Celtics teammate Tacko Fall visited Bahrain’s supreme council for youth and sport Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa and other dignitaries. Brown’s NBA championship and Finals MVP award were celebrated during the visit with a mammoth green and white cake. And on Sept. 21, 2024, Brown met with Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and the Prime Minister of Bahrain, at the Gudaibiya Palace in Manama. The Prime Minister highlighted Bahrain’s commitment to advancing sports, the role sports can play in building communication between countries and people, and how they are advancing in youth sports, according to a government press briefing.

Brown gained potential business partnerships from those visits and his time in Bahrain.

“We got some mutual business parties,” Brown said. “They got some stuff that they’re investing in that I’m taking a look at. Some stuff that I’m investing in, they’re taking a look at. Also, the Crown Prince is also an ambassador for Hapbee, a wearable technology brand that I’m investing in.”

Matthews spent time with Brown with Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa during his trip.

“Bahrain has people of power,” Matthews said. “They weren’t self-centered. They were asking about community, having morals of life. They [haters] tried to label [Brown] as a person that needs to focus on basketball. I love Jaylen. God put him on Earth to be a leader.”

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Brown said his Bahrain connects also helped him set up a week-long trip to Mecca, the religious capital of Saudi Arabia.

Brown is a practicing Muslim who observes Ramadan during the NBA season. Muslims visit Mecca, the birthplace of Prophet Muhammad known as the holiest of Muslim cities, to perform the Hajj pilgrimage. Sacred rituals are performed by Muslims there to strengthen one’s spiritual connection with Allah. Brown took part in the sacred ritual.

“Mecca was amazing. I can’t even put it into words,” Brown said. “After we won a championship, I went to Mecca maybe a week and a half later. To do that and to go on that spiritual journey, there is nothing like it.”

The Celtics are widely viewed as the favorites to repeat as NBA champs, but there has not been a back-to-back champion since the Golden State Warriors in 2017 and 2018. The Knicks and Eastern Conference-leading Cleveland Cavaliers are capable of derailing the Celtics.

Brown is confident that the Celtics can live up to the challenge and pressure in their journey to win a record 19th NBA title.

“Every year presents its own challenges and you got to make adjustments on the fly,” Brown said. “Just embrace it. Just try to come out and do what your team needs you to do to help get a win and continue to have a solitude in that. We are still learning and growing as a unit. We’ll be better for it in the long run, but it’s been a process.”

Whether the Celtics repeat as champs or not, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Brown visits Bahrain next offseason and eventually has roots there.

“I like the Middle East. There are a lot of misconceptions about the Middle East, but there are a lot of pros as well that I put some value in,” Brown said. “As I continue to grow and think about the future, family, the Middle East is definitely something that think about.”

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Matthews said that he dislikes how Brown has often been viewed as being too well-rounded.

In addition to being an NBA star with his own signature shoe, Brown has spoken at Harvard University, attended Cal-Berkeley more for the education than the basketball and is a vice president with the National Basketball Players’ Association. He is one of five players highlighted on the developing second season of Netflix’s Starting 5, and is using his wealth to create a “Black Wall Street” in Boston in hopes of gaining $5 billion in wealth for communities of color. During NBA All-Star Weekend in the San Francisco Bay Area, Brown went to Oakland to take part in Oakstop — a social enterprise that provides workspace, meeting/event space, and creative space to entrepreneurs and communities of color — and visited the Black Panther Party Museum.

Celtics star Jayson Tatum said Brown has always been “open-minded” and wasn’t surprised he spent two months in Bahrain.

“In the summertime he’s going to different places and different cultures,” Tatum told Andscape. “It works. He’s not married. He has no kids. He has the flexibility. I’m envious of that sometimes. He can just go somewhere three weeks at a time. He always talks about just wanting to travel the world and go to different places. I’m happy he gets to do that.”