Is The Key To Becoming A Star Player In The NBA Learning Karate?
OK stay with me here. By now most of you who are members of Celtics Twitter have seen this video and you may be thinking to yourself “why on earth would Jaylen want to learn karate?” To the naked eye it may seem like he’s just soaking up the culture of wherever the hell he is, but naturally it’s my job to look closer and see what may not be visible to the naked eye. Gotta stay one step ahead when it comes to analyzing offseason development in my opinion. So I’m here to tell you that this is more than Jaylen learning some sweet karate moves to ultimately use in his garage
After some extensive research, I’m pretty sure learning karate is one of the developmental steps you need to accomplish if you want to become an NBA star. We don’t see it a lot which tells me only a select few know the deal. This may all sound crazy to you, but hear me out because I have evidence to support my theory.
Example #1 – Kawhi Leonard
When healthy, we all agree Kawhi is one of the best two way players in the league right? I think it’s safe to call him a star. I would also say that he’s relatable to Jaylen in a sense that they are both two way wings who are pretty quiet. To say it would be amazing if Jaylen developed into the same caliber player as Kawhi one day would be pretty obvious. So how does karate factor into Kawhi’s rise as a star player? I dunno, you tell me
This happened at a time Kawhi was coming off a career year where he put up 25.5/5.8/3.5 on 48/34% splits. Clearly he was learning karate at the same time as part of his basketball training in order to be ready for this Foot Locker commercial. That’s enough for my brain to connect the dots that there is definitely a connection there.
Example #2 – Tim Duncan
See a theme here? One of the best franchises in the entire league is having multiple players learn the art of karate so you cannot convince me there isn’t something to it. I would say Duncan qualifies as a star, and look at this dude go!
A 15x All Star, 3x Finals MVP, 10x All NBA First Team, 3x All NBA Second Team, 2x All NBA Third Team, 8x All NBA Defense First Team, 7x All NBA Defense Second Team, 2x MVP and clear karate master. Things are starting to add up folks.
Example #3 – Draymond Green
Look hate him or love him, I consider Draymond Green a star player in today’s NBA. I know some people will disagree with that, but I’ve always considered him one of the key factors that enable the Warriors to play the way they do. Well you spend any time watching Draymond play and you’d see he has MASTERED the art of a legit karate kick
You could argue he is one of the only players that takes his karate training onto the court and uses it to his advantage which may rub some people the wrong way. I see it as a clear part of his offseason training and something that has become so ingrained in how he plays that it’s a real weapon.
So naturally seeing Jaylen Brown learn some karate moves has me extra excited for what should be another breakout year for the young wing. Aside from becoming a certified badass, I’m sure he is honing in on the other mental skills that karate brings that will help him elevate his game even more. Often times the evidence as to whether or not a young player will turn into a star is right in front of our faces the whole time, and I’ve seen enough to know that mastering karate is sort of a right of passage for a star player in the NBA.
When we see Jaylen take a leap next season, just remember that video at the top of this blog.