The architect behind the Boston Celtics 2024 NBA Championship is Brad Stevens, the former team head coach who graduated to the GM’s office in 2021 and made the key acquisitions that enabled the Celtics to a dominant NBA title win. The former coach defended the pairing of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown after the Finals, calling criticism of the duo over the years ‘stupid’ to Rachel Nichols.
“The criticism is stupid. I don’t care. Those two have achieved more than most 25, 26-year-olds ever had. The scrutiny was because they were playing in late May and June… I’d rather be in the mix and have my guts ripped out, than suck. And those two have been really good for a long time.”
Since Jaylen Brown was drafted by the franchise in 2016, the Celtics have been to six Conference Finals and two NBA Finals. Despite their extended deep runs into the postseason, all the times the Celtics came up short were held against the pairing that many believed for years needed to be split up.
The Celtics built a fierce lineup around Brown and Tatum with players who were more than happy to commit to playing a specific role while Brown and Tatum served as the team’s offensive engine.
Brown averaged 23.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 3.3 assists in the Playoffs while Tatum averaged 25.0 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 6.3 assists. Even though Tatum’s production was markedly more, Brown received both Conference and Finals MVPs for his superior efficiency, clutch moments, and All-Defense caliber play on the other end.
Jayson Tatum And Jaylen Brown Were Being Majorly Doubted
The duo of Tatum and Brown has been together for the last seven seasons, with both No. 3 picks being drafted one year apart in 2016 (Brown) and 2017 (Tatum). Since then, Tatum emerged as the team’s No. 1 option, racking up All-NBA First Team appearances and even winning the inaugural Conference Finals MVP in 2022.
While Tatum was All-NBA First Team again this season, the MVP honors fell to Jaylen Brown for his efficiency and masterful defensive effort in the Conference and NBA Finals. Ultimately, the pair proved together they could win together, with the skill gap between Tatum and Brown much smaller than many would assume.
Brown reflected on their pair’s journey together, and how happy they are to finally be champions.
“Just our growth together. We’ve been through a lot. We’ve been playing together for seven years now. We’ve been through a lot. The losses, the expectations, the media. It said all different types of things, you know, we can’t play together, we’re never going to win, we earned it all. You know, we just blocked it out and we just kept going. I trust him, he trusted me, and we did it together. So, you know, to get to this point, you know, and share that experience with JT is just awesome. I can’t, you know what I mean, it’s just amazing. It feels great.”
Brown averaged 23.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.6 assists this season while Tatum put up 26.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 4.9 assists. Brown was given the richest contract in NBA history last summer and Tatum is expected to be receiving an even larger contract this offseason. The Celtics trusted their duo and it paid off in a major way.
Thank you for being a valued reader of Fadeaway World. If you liked this article, please consider following us on Google News. We really appreciate your support.
