Celtics Star Fulfills Bill Nye’s Wish for Strong Performance vs. Wizards

Basketball stars like to mingle with other celebrities. That’s just how it goes in their world of status and fame.

But Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown posted on social media three weeks ago that he would meet another type of celebrity known for scientific experiments. The celebrity? None other than Bill Nye.

“I don’t remember what made me tweet that,” Brown told reporters, according to NBC Sports Boston. “I think I was just thinking about your particular educational experience and it just crossed my mind. I was like, ‘Man, I’ve got to meet this guy.’

Brown got his wish Friday night after Boston’s 108-96 NBA Cup win over the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena.

Nye, a native of Washington, DC, sat courtside as Brown poured in 31 points on 13-for-27 shooting for the Celtics to go along with 11 rebounds and five assists.

Brown met Nye after the game and that two took a few pictures together. It was a memorable moment for Brown, who seemed more excited to meet Nye than his team’s visit to the White House on Thursday.

“His contributions to STEM and STEAM have been amazing, and he made learning fun,” Brown said. “Growing up, I used to get excited when the teacher used to say, ‘We’re seeing Bill Nye today.’ So looking back on it, to be able to shake his hand to help me and my educational journey, it was pretty cool.”

Like Nye, Brown has tried to give back through science. With his 7uice Foundation, Brown established the Bridge programwhich is a four-day camp at world-renowned MIT and teaches science, technology, engineering, art and math, among other subjects, to minority students in Boston.

Brown said he didn’t know Nye was in the building when they tried to schedule a time to meet. It happened to be Friday night, and Brown was thrilled to have the chance to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with his idol.

“I think we were trying to see what would work,” Brown said. “Maybe we should do something in LA or not. I think he happened to be here so it kind of fell into place. But what an honor. What an honor. I was definitely excited to meet him and it was pretty cool just to shake his hand.”