Boston Celtics veteran forward Jaylen Brown appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres show on Tuesday, and revealed his grandfather had been diagnosed with cancer ahead of the team heading to the Disney bubble to finish the season.
Brown, who is especially close to his grandfather Willie — even training with the ex-boxer in the pandemic hiatus — shared that he almost didn’t go to the bubble on the show.
“My Grandpa was diagnosed with cancer just right before they were talking about getting ready to go into the bubble, and i’m the sole proprietor. He’s been living with me … for the last four, five, six months,” he explained, courtesy of Forbes Sports’ Chris Grenham.
“He needed me around, but we had the conversation, he didn’t necessarily want to start his chemo. He was just going to come to terms [with his diagnosis]; he’s like the toughest guy I’ve ever met, by the way. I’ve got to introduce him; he’s like a superhero. He’s been to the Vietnam War, he’s been shot in the head, twice. He’s had a heart attack, cancer, COVID all at the same time — he beat it all.”
“The Great Will B. is what they call him,” added Brown.
Jaylen Brown said his grandfather was diagnosed with cancer shortly before going to the bubble. He spoke to @TheEllenShow about that today, calling his grandfather a “superhero.” pic.twitter.com/4F8Hdm8OGM
— Chris Grenham (@chrisgrenham) October 20, 2020
The diagnosis — and Willie’s reaction to it — almost caused the Georgia native to sit out the restart, however.
After that series of health problems left the elder Brown exhausted, he was ready to accept his fate. But Jaylen convinced him to follow through with the treatment.
“He just said he was done,” he explained to DeGeneres, “he just said he was tired. How I convinced him [to start his chemotherapy] was [saying] ‘I’m going to go down there and play, but you’ve got to play too.’ He liked the sound of that, he signed up and … he’s doing good now. He’s doing great.”
We’re happy to hear it, and hope he recovers completely; Willie’s a fighter — just like his grandson.
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