The Unrivalled 1-on-1 tournament proved to be a massive hit, and Boston Celtics superstar Jaylen Brown wants the NBA to have one as well. Brown was asked in his press conference on Saturday about the tournament being a way to improve All-Star Weekend, and he is all for it.
“I’m actually a big fan of the one-on-one, off-the-dribble sports,” Brown said. “I think that Ballislife is doing some stuff as well. I actually love watching, ’cause it reminds me of like the purity of the game. It’s just mano a mano. It’s got people on the court talking trash. You got to play two sides. You got to be an offensive and a defensive player. So, I think that’ll be great.
“And then you could do it like boxing, you can call a guy out, challenge some people,” Brown added. “There some people I would love to challenge, some people that’s here this weekend, I would love to challenge. Pssh, all of them Luka [Doncic], Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander], [Jalen] Brunson, Donovan [Mitchell], I challenge all them guys 1-on-1. We could donate to whatever charity, let’s set it up.”
The 2026 edition of the Unrivalled’s 1-on-1 tournament was won by Chelsea Gray. She beat Allisha Gray in the final and pocketed $200,000 in prize money. That’s a pretty penny, and the NBA was said to be considering offering a lot more.
Front Office Sports reported in 2025 that the NBA was considering a 1-on-1 tournament with a $1 million prize for the 2026 All-Star Weekend. Of course, this did not materialize in the end. Hopefully, we’ll get to see it next year.
There is this notion that NBA players wouldn’t want to participate because they don’t want to get embarrassed, but Brown would put his name in there. The 29-year-old is also the only star to have participated in the Dunk Contest in the 2020s, and you admire the fact that he’s willing to do what so many others aren’t.
That said, would you back Brown, who is averaging 29.3 points, 6.9 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 1.0 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game in 2025-26, to beat the likes of Luka Doncic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in a 1-on-1 contest? Probably not, but unlike a Doncic, he is a two-way player. We saw Brown give the Slovenian problems in the 2024 NBA Finals, and this would be an interesting matchup.
Doncic doesn’t think he’d make the final if the NBA did introduce this tournament. He went with Victor Wembanyama and Kyrie Irving as his two finalists. Doncic says you can’t really score on Wembanyama 1-on-1, and that is true. The 7’4″ Frenchman would probably come out on top.
Jaylen Brown Might Be Heading To The UFC After Retirement
Brown brought up boxing when talking about the tournament, and we might see him in the ring someday. The 2024 Finals MVP revealed here that he is considering turning to boxing or becoming a UFC fighter post-retirement.
“To be honest, I’ve toyed with this,” Brown stated. “I’ve talked to some people. Maybe post-part of my career, I would love to partake in something like UFC or even boxing. I’ve talked to Dana White about some stuff, but we’ll see as things go on. We’ll see.”
This might seem a bit odd at first, but Brown’s father, Quenton Marselles Brown, is a former professional boxer who was crowned the 2016 World Boxing Union (WBU) World Champion. His grandfather, Willie Brown, is also a former boxer, so it is definitely in his blood.
