Say what you will about the state of modern media, and the way users of social sites like Twitter and Instagram make hay off quotes and sentiments taken entirely out of context, but the quotes delivered by ESPN salary-cap guru Bobby Marks about the Celtics‘ Jaylen Brown on Saturday was remarkable and, frankly, absurd.
Speaking on Sirius XM Radio’s NBA channel, Marks said that there is not much of a trade market around the league for Brown because, “There’s mixed feelings about him.” Marks went on to say that Brown is not viewed favorably by the analytics community–and wildly so. Said Marks: “I had an analytics guy tell me, ‘We view [Jaylen Brown] as the seventh-best player on a TEAM.’”
It did not take long for word of that to reach Brown, who responded on Twitter/X, “Analytics nowadays used to discredit and control narratives – Roll the ball out none of these guys better than me on both ends who does he work for.”
Celtics’ Jaylen Brown Not a Model of Efficiency
Indeed, Brown has not always been the most efficient player for the Celtics, in part because of the role he has been asked to play. He is an average-ish 3-point shooter and has not traditionally gotten to the free-throw line at an elite level. That’s turned in recent years, especially last season when he played without Jayson Tatum for much of the season–Brown averaged 7.5 free-throws per game.
But Brown does prefer long 2-pointers, which are generally frowned upon by the analytics folks. He led the league with 16.0 2-pointers attempted per game, and was fourth with 366 total midrange shots this season. He was second in shots taken in the paint, but outside the restricted area (427), according to NBA stats.
Again, those are shots that analytics types despise, though Brown should be commended as a 47.7% shooter–he makes a large chunk of the shots he tries, whether they’re deemed efficient or not.
7th Best Player on the Celtics?
In Marks’ defense, he did say that the Celtics star should be judged beyond what the analytics say. He said that the “eye test” ought to be considered in the discussion of a player, and that Brown’s eye test–on both ends of the floor–would tell any observer this is a player you want on your team. Brown is an Olympian, a five-time All-Star, a Finals MVP and the No. 6 vote-getter in this season’s MVP chase.
It’s one thing to say Brown is overvalued or overrated. But to say he is the seventh-best player on a team? That’s wild.
Marks responded to Brown on Twitter/X: “But what wasn’t posted was the 2m of saying I’m not an analytics person but an eye test guy. That I would want Jaylen Brown on my team. That you impact winning (191-80 in the last 4 years), is a top-10 player and would help any team looking to win a championship. That part of course didn’t make it. But that’s the media in 2026.”
GettyBobby Marks of ESPN
Jaylen Brown vs. ESPN a Continuing Fight
As for the last part of the message from Brown–“Who does he work for?”–the Celtics star seems to be referring to his ongoing feud with ESPN or, more specifically, with the network’s biggest mouth, Stephen A. Smith. The two have gone back-and-forth about their disdain for one another, with Brown saying Smith should retire.
This week, Brown spoke about the network and its diminishing of the Celtics this season and said, “ESPN is unethical, and Stephen A. Smith is the head and face of that.”
Smith called Brown “pathetic” after those comments. The Marks situations has, inevitably, gotten tangled with that animosity.
Celtics Jaylen Brown Issues Fiery Response to Yet Another ESPN Personality