Growing up outside Boston in the late 1980s and early 1990s, I was, by birthright and by accident of history, a fan of the Boston Celtics. At that time, the team, led by Larry Bird, was one of the best ever. During the season, Bird happened to live in our neighborhood, and I can still remember that it felt like a miracle to see him in the flesh, whether around the corner or at the Boston Garden.
Part of the responsibility of being an editor is to make sure that the choices you make best reflect a publication’s values and vision, not just your own, sometimes parochial, concerns. Still, I’ve learned that when an idea comes your way that does rhyme with your own interests, it’s best not to think too hard or too long about it.
So when Cate Matthews, who led the creation of this year’s TIME100 Next, suggested that Jaylen Brown be included as one of the cover subjects of this year’s issue—making him the first Celtic since my childhood hero Bird to appear on the cover of TIME in nearly 40 years—I did not take too long to say yes. Brown, who alongside Jayson Tatum led the Celtics to the NBA Championship this year, has become one of the sport’s most curious and committed leaders. In August, he launched Boston XChange, with the goal of helping to build innovation and generational wealth in underrepresented communities. Today, he is spreading that vision far outside Boston. “When it’s all said and done,” the Celtics’ GM Brad Stevens says, “I think his impact will be greater off the court than on.”
Now in its fifth year, the TIME100 Next list was created to recognize that many of today’s most influential leaders are, like the 27-year-old Brown, individuals who are not waiting long in life to make an impact. Nor are they eager to respect the status quo by following the traditional power structures and pathways that have determined what influence looked like in the past. TIME100 Next has no age requirements; its aim is to recognize that influence does not have them either, nor does leadership look like it once did. Indeed, the majority of the individuals on this year’s list are leaders of color; more than half are women.
Brown is joined on the cover by singer Sabrina Carpenter, the pop star whose music illuminated the summer, and Aisha Nyandoro, whose group, Magnolia Mother’s Trust in Jackson, Miss., is showing how a guaranteed-income project can work. The range of these cover subjects reflects the diversity of leadership and impact in 2024. That is our ambition for TIME100 Next. We aim with this annual franchise to recognize rising leaders in health, climate, business, sports, and more—and by doing so, not just show the stories that are capturing headlines in 2024, but also introduce you to the people who we believe will play an important role in leading the future.
As with the original TIME100, we invite past TIME100 alumni and other leaders to write tributes to this year’s honorees. The Ford Foundation’s Darren Walker recognizes Marlene Engelhorn, who, after inheriting the equivalent of $27 million, decided to give almost all of it away—and, in doing so, created a whole new framework for what philanthropy could be. News anchor Judy Woodruff honors the brave and pioneering reporting done by Anna Wolfe and her colleagues at Mississippi Today. Sam Altman measures the impact of OpenAI partner Alexandr Wang, who is creating the data infrastructure that is powering the AI revolution. Lily Gladstone, who appeared on TIME100 Next last year before earning an Oscar nomination, plays tribute to fellow actor Kali Reis.
We are thrilled to introduce you to these individuals along with all of the TIME100 Next, and can’t wait to gather together with the 2024 honorees in New York City in October.