Jaylen Brown Helped Celtics Get Back To Championship Level

Jaylen Brown helped Celtics get back to championship level originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Jaylen Brown helped the Boston Celtics return to a championship pedigree, and because of that, he deserves to be remembered as a franchise icon forever.

Brown’s tenure with the Celtics ended Wednesday when he was reportedly traded to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Paul George, two first-round picks and two second-round picks.

This trade closes the book on a 10-year journey for Brown in Boston — one that included plenty of ups and downs, but most importantly resulted in the Celtics securing Banner 18 in 2024.

Getting to that point where Brown was holding the Larry O’Brien Trophy wasn’t easy, though.

Taking a chance

The Celtics deserve a lot of credit for selecting Brown with the No. 3 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. It was one of several lottery picks Boston ended up getting from the Brooklyn Nets in the famous Paul Pierce/Kevin Garnett trade from 2013. And he wasn’t the consensus third-best player in that draft. Many mock drafts had Jamal Murray or Kris Dunn going to the Celtics. Brown went as low as No. 7 or 8 in some mock drafts.

But former C’s president of basketball operations Danny Ainge clearly saw a special talent in Brown, who had the physical prowess, basketball IQ, and raw talent to be an impact player early in his career.

The addition of Brown was not universally praised among fans. There were a lot of rumors at the time about the C’s being interested in trading for star players such as Jimmy Butler or Paul George. So when a blockbuster trade didn’t materialize on draft night and the C’s instead drafted a kid from the University of California, some fans were disappointed. There were boos at the Celtics’ draft party at the Garden.

But it wouldn’t take too long for Celtics fans to start cheering for Brown and embracing him.

Early growing pains

Brown started 20 games as a rookie but played only 17.2 minutes per game that season. His all-around skill set was on display in his third ever game — a showdown against LeBron James and the Cavs on the road — in which he scored 19 points with five rebounds, two assists, one block and three steals.

Overall, Brown played well enough to earn a spot on the All-Rookie second team.

Brown really started to blossom in his second season. The roster around him was better after the C’s drafted Jayson Tatum and traded for Kyrie Irving. They also signed Gordon Hayward in free agency.

Hayward’s scary season-ending injury on Opening Night opened the door for Brown to play a larger role than anticipated in Year 2, and he capitalized on the opportunity. Brown averaged 14.5 points per game in 2017-18, which was more than double his output as a rookie. He also shot 39.5 percent from 3-point range. Brown was even better in the playoffs. Irving and Hayward were both sidelined in the postseason due to injuries, but led by Brown and Tatum, the C’s exceeded all expectations and advanced all the way to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

Brown scored 30 points in a Game 2 win over the Bucks in the first round. He scored 24 points in a Game 5 clincher over the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round. He also scored 23-plus points in four of the seven games against James and the Cavs in the conference finals. But the C’s ultimately came up short in an 87-79 Game 7 defeat at TD Garden.

There was a lot of optimism surrounding Brown and the entire Celtics team entering the 2018-19 season. Irving and Hayward were back healthy. Tatum and Brown had proven in the 2018 playoffs they were legit contributors. All the stars were aligning for a potential title run.

But the 2018-19 campaign was a major disappointment, for many reasons. The uncertainty over Irving’s future with the team and whether he’d re-sign was a huge story. The C’s didn’t meet expectations on the court, either. Brown started only 25 games after starting in all 70 of his appearances the year before. Many of his stats decreased, as did his playing time by about five minutes per game.

Reaching All-Star status

The 2019-20 season was a bounce-back for Brown. He averaged career highs of 20.3 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. His 3-point shooting also improved a lot. The C’s finished third in the East, and in the bubble playoffs in Orlando they advanced all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals, where the Miami Heat won in six games.

Brown played even better in the 2020-21 season, raising his scoring average to a career-high 24.7 points and shooting just under 40 percent from 3-point range. He was selected to the All-Star Game for the first time. Unfortunately for Brown, a wrist injury prevented him from playing in the postseason, and the C’s were eliminated in the first round in five games by the Brooklyn Nets.

Adversity in the playoffs

After a couple trips to the Eastern Conference Finals, the Celtics finally broke through and made it to the NBA Finals in 2022 after defeating the Miami Heat on the road in Game 7. Brown scored 24 points with six rebounds and six assists in that Game 7, and he scored 20-plus points in six of the seven games in the conference finals, including a 40-point outburst in Game 3.

The 2022 NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors started off with a bang. The Celtics trailed by double digits in Game 1, but Brown helped lead a second-half comeback that resulted in a 120-108 victory. Brown scored 27 points in a Game 3 win in Boston, giving the C’s a 2-1 series lead.

But the more experienced Warriors won the next three games, including the Game 6 clincher at the Garden. Brown was one of the few C’s players who came to play in Game 6 with a team-leading 34 points.

The Finals loss was difficult, but the experienced gained was valuable, and expectations going into the 2022-23 season were enormous. Brown was again an All-Star in 2022-23 and, for the first time, was selected to an All-NBA team (second team) after averaging a career-high 26.6 points per game.

Brown did not play at his best in the 2023 conference finals against the Heat.

Miami shockingly took a 3-0 lead on the C’s, including a pair of victories in Boston to begin the series. Brown scored just 16 points in Game 2 and 12 in Game 3. The Celtics were able to force a Game 7 and give themselves a chance to become the first NBA team ever to win a series after trailing 0-3. Tatum sprained his ankle early in Game 7, and Brown was unable to pick up the slack as the Heat cruised to another East title. Brown shot 8-for-23 from the field and 1-for-9 on 3-pointers in Game 7, in addition to eight turnovers.

“We failed. I failed. We let the whole city down,” Brown said at his press conference after Game 7.

He later added: “My team turned to me to make plays and I came up short, I failed. It’s tough. I give credit to Miami, but just a terrible job.”

It was a crushing loss for Brown and the Celtics. But it ended up fueling them for a historic 2023-24 campaign.

Becoming a champion

The Celtics made bold roster changes going into the 2023-24 season. They traded away fan favorites Marcus Smart and Robert Williams III, and made deals to acquire veteran point guard Jrue Holiday and center Kristaps Porzingis.

The C’s were loaded, and they dominated all competition in one of the most impressive regular seasons in recent memory. Brown made a third consecutive All-Star team as Boston cruised to a league-best 64-18 record.

The 2024 playoffs were arguably the best stretch of Brown’s career with the Celtics. He was locked in from the start, and he scored 25-plus points in nine of Boston’s 19 games that spring.

Brown earned Eastern Conference Finals MVP after a sweep of the Indiana Pacers. His heroics in Game 1, including a game-tying 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter, helped the C’s escape with an overtime victory.

He followed that up with a sensational 40-point performance in Game 2. Brown scored 29 points in the Game 4 clincher, and he made a couple huge defensive plays late in that matchup.

Brown played fantastic in the NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks.

After playing well in the first two games, Brown gave a signature performance in Game 3 to help the C’s take a commanding 3-0 series lead. He scored 30 points with eight rebounds and eight assists, including a bunch of clutch plays in the fourth quarter. None were more important than his jumper that gave Boston a 102-98 lead with 1:01 remaining.

“I think this team has trusted me, especially in this playoffs and those moments to just be who I am,” Brown told reporters at a press conference after Game 3.

“I felt like I’ve been able to just deliver just by being patient and being poised. Those opportunities have presented themselves, and I’ve been able to take advantage of them. But I give all my credit to my teammates for the trust they had in me to have the ball in my hands and to be able to make those plays.”

Brown scored 21 points with eight rebounds and six assists as the Celtics eliminated the Mavericks in Game 5 for the franchise’s record-breaking 18th championship. He was voted the winner of the Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP Trophy. Not only did Brown hit a bunch of important shots, he played great defense on Dallas superstar Luka Doncic throughout the series.

An emotional Brown, with the Finals MVP trophy on the table to his left, explained in his postgame press conference how all of the past failures helped both him and the team finally accomplish the ultimate goal.

“I think we learned. I think we learned from all of our mistakes. All of our adversity has made us stronger, made us tougher,” Brown said. “All season you could see it. We started from the jump. We made all the sacrifices. We played both ends of the ball at a high level. We didn’t skip any steps. And this was the result.

“But all of those experiences, like, led to here. All of moments where we came up short, we felt like we let the city down, let ourselves down, all of that compiled is how we get to this moment. And it makes it feel even that much better that we had to go through all the journey, the heartbreak, the embarrassment, the loss, to get to the mountaintop. It’s great. And shout out to all the supporters and the city of Boston.”

An MVP-caliber season

Tatum’s Achilles injury in the 2025 Eastern Conference semifinals resulted in Brown being the No. 1 option on the Celtics during the 2025-26 campaign, and he took advantage of the opportunity.

Brown set career highs of 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game. He was an All-Star starter for the first time, and he was voted to the All-NBA second team for the second time in his career. Brown was in the MVP conversation at times during the season and ended up finishing sixth in the voting.

He helped the Celtics exceed all expectations during the regular season as they finished with the second-best record in the East.

The first-round playoff exit to the Philadelphia 76ers was a difficult ending to the season, especially when you consider the C’s had a 3-1 series lead. Brown didn’t play his best in the series, but there were plenty of reasons why Boston failed to advance.

All-time numbers

Climbing the all-time leaderboards for a team like the Celtics that has so many Hall of Famers is no small feat.

Brown leaves the Celtics ranked in the top 10 in several notable statistical categories:

• Points scored: 10th
• Points per game: 8th
• Field goals per game: 9th
• 3-Point shots: 3rd
• Defensive rebounds: 8th

Brown also earned four All-Star appearances, a second team All-Rookie selection, two second team All-NBA appearances, an NBA Finals MVP and Eastern Conference MVP awards, and one championship during his Celtics career.

He is one of the best and most accomplished Celtics of the 21st century. His No. 7 deserves to be in the rafters at TD Garden someday. The impact he made on the franchise and the city in the last 10 years was immense, and it will be felt for a long time.

The Celtics took a shot on Brown in 2016 and it paid off tremendously.