Following the Celtics’ dominating 122-100 over the Raptors on Friday, ESPN basketball analyst (and former Celtics big man) Kendrick Perkins had some pretty kind things to say about bis former team, most notably Jaylen Brown, who he called the best two-way guard in the game.
“Jaylen Brown, to me, is the best all-around shooting guard in the league. He don’t search for shots, he’s not a high volume scorer, but when you look up at the end of the night, he got his 20 points, on over 50% shooting and he locks up the best guy every single night.”
"Jaylen Brown, to me, is the best all-around shooting guard in the league." Ok, @KendrickPerkins 😳 pic.twitter.com/KnzboqgrqS
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) August 8, 2020
There’s no arguing Jaylen Brown is a talented young player. This season, he is averaging 20 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game on 48% shooting. He can score in countless ways and is a reliable clutch performer.
Most impressive, however, is what he does on the defensive end. As one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA, he sets the tone for his team on that end of the floor and is often asked to guard the other teams’ best player.
But with just three years in the league under his belt, is it fair to put him over guys like Klay Thompson and Paul George, who have more experience being excellent two-way players?
At the very least, it’s debatable, and it seems the Twitter world had a lot to say about it…
https://twitter.com/Friartown1917/status/1292051517424508929
Klay Thompson ? Paul George ? Jaylen is good but he’s not the best all around stop it
— Alex🇵🇷 (@alex_7592_) August 8, 2020
Uh…does Klay Thompson still exist?
— George (@IronicParties) August 8, 2020
It seems we’ll just have to wait and see the verdict on this one. As good as Jaylen is, he’s still got a lot to prove before he can truly be considered the top in his position. These next few weeks will be telling.
