NBA players are on a whole different level than the average baller, but sometimes even the professionals can be bested by an amateur. This was the case for Boston Celtics swingman Jaylen Brown, who recently went viral for being locked up by the assistant principal of Wheeler High School.
From playing a lil defense defense to getting dunked on….life comes atcha fast ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ @FCHWPO pic.twitter.com/VX1oNS12hW
— Barry Bowdre Jr. 🇦🇸 (@CoachBowdre) August 28, 2025
Brown’s matchup here (Barry Bowdre Jr.) is also the athletic director of the school, so it’s possible he may have played in college back in the day. Regardless, Brown quickly reminded everyone just how much he was holding back.
Whether to prove a point or give the students in the stands a show (maybe both), Brown followed up the possession with a one-handed dunk that shut down any notion of equality between the athletes.
As the video of the moment began to make its rounds, fans couldn’t help but react in a variety of ways that only enhanced the engagement.
“As soon as he asked for the clearout, I knew what was coming,” wrote a fan on X.
Of course, Brown has a history of being weak on his left side, and the comments were flooded with fans who pointed out Jaylen’s major flaw.
“Jaylen Brown never beating the left-hand allegations,” joked another fan.
While Brown did show off his superior skill set, fans are still surprised and disappointed that Brown let himself get stripped like that in the first place.
“This is the Celtics’ first option this year, btw,” wrote one commenter.
Some critics even suggested some personal training for Brown, whose handles have never been his strong suit.
“TMac needs a lot of credit for teaching Jaylen Brown how to score bc this man dead gets a lot of buckets with no handle,” a fan wrote.
While this was not Brown’s finest moment, it’s only fun and games at the end of the day, and both sides were good sports about it. While there is a larger conversation to be had about street players thinking they can compete with actual NBA players, everybody knows that Jaylen wasn’t giving his all here, and the principal was probably just happy to have shut him down even once.
As for Jaylen Brown, this summer is an important one for him. In the wake of Jayson Tatum’s injury and the trades involving Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday, he’s been working hard to prepare himself to be the leader and main scoring option for the Celtics. With career averages of 19.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game, he’ll have to take his game to another level to keep his team afloat without his co-star.
While getting stripped by an average Joe may not be the best sign of his ascension, real fans know that he’s capable of much more. If he can continue to develop his handles and become a more consistent scorer, it’ll be all he needs to take his game to the next level, and the fans won’t even remember that he was stripped by an assistant principal. For now, the NBA community is enjoying this wholesome moment, which everyone in that gym will remember forever.
