Shortly after the Boston Celtics‘ season came to an abrupt end, Jaylen Brown found himself in hot water with the fanbase. During a livestream on Twitch, the All-Star forward cited the 2025-26 season as being the favorite of his career thus far.
Celtics fans weren’t impressed. After all, Brown has won a championship with the franchise in 2024. Furthermore, this past season saw Jayson Tatum sidelined for the majority, as he recovered from an Achilles injury, and the Celtics were eliminated in the opening round of the playoffs.
However, Payton Pritchard believes that Brown’s comments were taken out of context, and that he received some unnecessary pushback, both from fans and the media.
“I think people took it wrong,” Pritchard said, via a video posted by Boston 7News’ Ari Alexander. “I feel like, with what we were supposed to do this year and overcoming that and becoming the No. 2 seed and having a successful regular season, I think that’s what he meant by that. People kind of targeted this as a regroup, not make the playoffs type of year [for us] and he had a tremendous year. He should have been first-team All-NBA.”
“I think people took it wrong, with what we were supposed to do this year and overcoming that and becoming the #2 seed and having a successful regular season, I think that’s what he meant by that.”
Brown, 29, played the best basketball of his career last season. In the absence of Jayson Tatum, he put Boston on his back and led them to the second seed in the Eastern Conference.
Brown Has Also Addressed His Prior Comments
During a recent livestream on his Twitch channel, Brown explained what he meant when calling this past season his ‘favorite.’
“Y’all can clip this up: This was my favorite season of my career,” Brown said. “I will say it even louder. I’ll stand on it. I’ll triple down, quadruple down. Whatever y’all want me to say, chat. I’m coming on here to give context and talk about certain things. But I’m not really here to clear up no backlash.”
Brown continued.
“You got to see all of these guys, all of my teammates, grow,” Brown added. “I got to see them overcome adversity as a group, up close and personal. Obviously, we’re not satisfied with the result. But to fight and maneuver through adversity and grow, and galvanize with a bunch of guys and to have that mindset and approach, this was my favorite season.”
With the additional context, Brown’s comments were clear to understand. However, that doesn’t mean that all Celtics fans agree with his assessment.
Brown Is Eligible For A Contract Extension
Brown will be eligible for a two-year $141.9 million contract extension. That is, of course, assuming the Celtics don’t trade him this summer. The deal would kick in at the end of his current contract. He would earn north of $70 million during his age-33 and age-34 seasons.
Whether the Celtics are willing to commit that level of money to a version of Brown that may be on the decline will remain to be seen. However, Brad Stevens has the opportunity to lock Brown’s future down for the remainder of his prime years.
As such, Brown’s name will likely be floated in rumors for the remainder of the summer.
Celtics’ Payton Pritchard Comes to Jaylen Brown’s Defense After Livestream Backlash