Celtics rookie Jaylen Brown was one of three adidas athletes sitting courtside to watch the stars of tomorrow at the adidas Nations Championship at Cerritos College in California. Brown, who signed with adidas prior to being selected No. 3 in this year’s NBA Draft, averaged 16 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game during Summer League play, good enough to earn him All-NBA Summer League second team honors.

We caught up with the C’s rook to talk life with the Three Stripes, season expectations, Summer League and much more.

SLAM: Now that you’re on the other side at these adidas grassroots events, what’s your message to the campers?

Jaylen Brown: Just keep working hard, stay focused, keep working on your game and developing. This is a good game to see where you are talent-wise. Keep working on your game and getting better.

SLAM: How would you grade yourself overall after your Summer League performance?

JB: I don’t know. I wouldn’t grade it. It’s just like a way for me to get better and a way for me to continue to progress. Summer League is hard to kind of grade because in some of the games a lot of guys play really hard and a lot of guys are trying to get checks, so it’s different. But I guess I’d give myself an OK grade. I’m just trying to get better. That’s it, man.

SLAM: From now until the season starts, what are you really working on when you’re in the gym?

JB: Just trying to get better everyday. The type of stuff that I work on now is defensive stuff, things that’ll get me on the floor and a lot of stuff that people don’t like to work on. Defensively, if I keep working on that, I’ll continue to get better. Right now, I just work on a lot of defensive stuff and shooting the ball and things like that.

SLAM: What was it about The Three Stripes that made you want to be a part of the family?

JB: Just what the brand is about—the history, tradition, the kind of culture behind it, you know? Back in the day, my mom used to wear adidas and adidas jumpsuits. They partner with hip-hop and the culture behind it so I feel like it matched me. That’s why I chose adidas.

SLAM: So you’re all in for a Yeezy x adidas Basketball sneaker?

JB: For sure. Kanye is a creative genius nothing short of it. I would love to get in the lab with Kanye and bounce off ideas. I’ve been wanting to do that for a long time. I’m a big fan of his and his music especially the ones I grew up on like Late Registration, College Dropout and Graduation. I wrote papers about him so we’ll see if we can make it happen.

SLAM: Any chance of you rocking previous adidas athletes’ signature kicks during the season?

JB: Oh you can definitely catch me in some T-Mac’s for sure.

SLAM: With Boston’s history, what’s it going to feel like to wear “Celtics” across your chest knowing all the great players that have came before you?

JB: Same thing about repping myself with adidas—the history, tradition, the brand. The Celtics have a long line of history, legacy and things like that. I just want to come out and play hard for them and try to add on to the legacy that’s already there.

SLAM: From a personal standpoint, what are some expectations you have for yourself as you enter your rookie season?

JB: Just get better. Rome wasn’t built in a day and there’s a process to everything. Expectations for me are that I expect to get better.

SLAM: Regardless of being selected No. 3 in the NBA Draft, do you feel you still have something to prove?

JB: Absolutely. I always have a chip on my shoulder. I’m going to continue to get better and I’m confident in who I am and what I’ll be. Now it’s about continuing to get better and showing everybody else.

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