Jaylen Brown has never needed extra motivation, but if you were looking for proof that he keeps receipts, his postgame comments after the Boston Celtics‘ 102-94 win over the Portland Trail Blazers said plenty.
The moment started with Jrue Holiday, who spent the previous two seasons with the Celtics and played a crucial role in their championship core. Now with the Trail Blazers, Holiday admitted he was not surprised by Boston’s success this season, pointing directly at Brown’s mentality.
“Not that surprised. I knew that they’d do well. Knowing the type of determination that this coaching staff and organization has, being with the team for a couple of years now and knowing the type of player that they have and how they prepare, I figured they would be good. And then obviously, knowing Jaylen, I feel like he takes a lot of things personally. He doesn’t accept a lot, especially when it comes to being bad.”
Brown did not disagree. If anything, he leaned into it.
Reporter: “Jrue Holiday said he thought that you took it personally, the way people thought you guys were going to kind of fall off as a team coming into this season. How personally did you take all that talk, and how did that sit with you? The talk that you guys were going to have a gap year, maybe be headed for the lottery or things like that?”
Jaylen Brown: “What’s the question?”
Reporter: “How personally did you take that, and how did that talk sit with you?”
Jaylen Brown: “I take everything personally, low-key. I’m always looking for something. But yeah, I felt like I’ve sacrificed over the years in order for us to be a championship-caliber team. And I think now we’re getting to see that a little bit, what exactly I was capable of and what I was sacrificing.”
“I think before, maybe it wasn’t so obvious. I think now, being able to be at the helm of things, and us being the second seed in the East versus last year when we finished the second seed in the East, it’s almost been no drop-off with four or five players that are essentially gone. The work from the coaching staff, the work from our leadership has been great. And I just try to make myself available every single night.”
Reporter: “What did you think people missed when they kind of had those expectations for you guys? What did they miss?”
Jaylen Brown: “What did they miss? I’m not sure. I mean, to certain people it may be obvious, but everybody’s got different eyes. So I’m not sure. Obviously, we had some great players that are not a part of our organization anymore. We got one that’s recovering from an injury. So I guess that’s the obvious thing people would see. But I’ve always believed in myself and believed that I was one of the best players in this league, and then I got the opportunity to show it.”
That word, sacrificed, is doing a lot of work here. For years, Brown played in a system that asked him to defer, adjust, and sometimes disappear within a stacked lineup. The Celtics were loaded with multiple All-Stars and a deep rotation. Brown was elite, but rarely at the center of everything.
This season changed all of that.
Boston entered the year written off by many as a team headed for a gap year. Jayson Tatum suffered a devastating Achilles injury and is expected to miss the season. Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis were moved as part of a necessary luxury tax reset. What remained was Brown, Derrick White, and a supporting cast most believed was headed for the play-in at best.
Instead, the Celtics are second in the East at 29–17.
What has become obvious is how complete Brown’s game looks when everything runs through him. He is averaging 29.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 4.9 assists while shooting 48.3% from the field and 36.2% from three-point range. He is scoring at all three levels, initiating offense, and setting the tone defensively.
That opportunity arrived because Boston had no other choice. The surprise is not that Brown rose to it. The surprise is that so many doubted he would.
Holiday’s comments, intentional or not, captured the essence of Brown’s rise. He takes things personally. He always has. The difference now is that the sacrifices are gone, the spotlight is his, and the Celtics are still winning.
