Getty Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics.
The Boston Celtics are up 3-0 on the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Even with their comfortable lead, there is still drama off the court, with outspoken ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith citing an anonymous source with a damning take on Celtics star Jaylen Brown.
“Jaylen Brown. It’s not so much that he’s underrated,” Smith said, reading the message on “First Take” on May 24. “It’s that he’s just not liked because of his ‘I-am-better-than-you’ attitude. He knows it. It’s the same reason he is not as marketable as he should be. That’s what a NBA source just sent me. I don’t know that to be the case. I like Jaylen Brown – I know a lot of people that like Jaylen Brown. But when you think about marketability, that’s what this person was alluding to.”
After catching wind of Smith’s comments, Brown offered a three-word response.
“State your source,” the three-time All-Star, Brown, posted on X on May 26, quoting a clip of the segment.
Brown earned All-NBA Second Team honors in 2022-23. But did not make any of the three All-NBA teams this season. He averaged 23.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.2 steals per game this past season.
He notably saw his scoring dip by 3.6 points per game while snagging 1.4 fewer rebounds.
Brown did post career-highs in both field goal percentage and assists per game and tied his career-best in steals.
Jaylen Brown Helps Key Celtics’ 4Q Surge in Game 3
Brown is averaging a playoff career-high 24.7 points with 6.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists this postseason. Coming off a playoff career-high 40 points in Game 2 of the series, Brown was candid about whether or not the snubs fueled his performance.
“We two games from the Final so, honestly, I ain’t got the time to give a f***,” Brown told reporters on May 24.
Brown had 24 points in Game 3 but struggled from beyond the arc with the rest of the team.
He was still a key part of the Celtic’s fourth-quarter surge to take the lead in Game 3, including his poster dunk on Pacers center Myles Turner. He also had support from teammate Jayson Tatum – who earned All-NBA First Team honors this season – in light of his snub.
This Jaylen Brown slam during the Celtics’ 4Q run 😳
“We all felt, internally, that he should have made one of all NBA teams,” Tatum told reporters on May 23. “So it was a shame to see that he didn’t.”
Tatum was not the only teammate to speak out about Brown’s snub.
Derrick White and Payton Pritchard also chimed in, as did Head Coach Joe Mazzulla. But the Celtics have grander concerns, now just one game away from their second Finals appearance in the last three seasons.
Celtics Have History on Their Side
The Celtics move to 3-0 shifted the odds greatly in their favor. They were 2-0 entering the night, a mark which has seen teams go 422-34 (92.5%) in previous series, per Land Of Basketball, including a 58-6 mark in the Conference Finals.
Falling to 2-1 would have meant facing a 470-117 historical mark, or 80.1%. Teams that lead 3-0, however, are undefeated in 154 tries. Those series have ended in sweeps 94 times.
Brown and the Celtics are firmly in the driver’s seat.