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Jaylen Brown has come out and said he’s playing the best basketball of his NBA career. A year ago, Brown was named to his first All-NBA team. This year, the Boston Celtics star didn’t get that same love.
Reserve Celtics guard Payton Pritchard had a tough time figuring out why Brown didn’t make either of the three teams. He called it a snub. Pritchard stuck up for Brown ahead of his team’s clash with the Indiana Pacers in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
Payton Pritchard Said Jaylen Brown ‘Definitely Deserves’ All-NBA Honor
It’s certainly not the the biggest thing on his mind. It’s also not the most important item on his plate, but Brown can’t be too happy with finding out he didn’t earn his second straight All-NBA honor.
With the exception of Derrick White, no Celtics player has put up the same numbers as they did last year. That’s because the Celtics are a far better team than their 2022-2023 version.
In the offseason, the Celtics brought in veteran guard Jrue Holiday and veteran center Kristaps Porzingis to help give Boston arguably the best starting five in the league. The Celtics had five legitimate scorers in the starting lineup, and the load no longer fell on the shoulders of Brown and Jayson Tatum. Boston cruised through the regular season and finished with an NBA-best 64-18 record.
Despite the ball being share among five stars, Brown still averaged 23.0 points (down from 26.3), 5.5 rebounds (down from 6.9), and 3.6 assists (up from 3.5). Brown also improved with taking care of the ball, cutting down his turnovers from 2.9 to 2.4.
When the All-NBA teams were announced before the conference finals, Pritchard was shocked when he didn’t see Brown’s name on any team.
“Congrats to JT, obviously well-deserved,” Pritchard told reporters. “JB, that was a snub, for sure.
“I don’t understand how you can be the number one team by a wide margin and only have one dude. JB’s been terrific all year, two-way player. He definitely deserved to be on there.”
Joe Mazzulla Gave His Thoughts on Brown’s Snub
Brown has been outstanding for the Celtics this year. It was his in-your-face 3-pointer in the waning second of Game 1 of the conference finals that sent the game in overtime and allowed the Celtics to pull out a 133-128 victory.
Head coach Joe Mazzulla was asked about Brown’s snub. Mazzulla isn’t worried about anything like that affecting his star. He said Brown knows what’s at stake this year, especially after coming up short in the last two seasons. Mazzulla knows Brown has his priorities in order as the series with the Pacers heats up.
“He’s a very mature guy,” Mazzulla said of Brown. “He has a great outlook on life. He knows what’s important and what’s not, works really hard, and he knows who he is as a person and as a player and that’s the most important thing.”
Brown finished with 26 points on 10-for-20 shooting in the Game 1 victory. Tatum, who was named All-NBA First Team for the third straight year, led all scorers with 36 points. He also pulled down 12 rebounds.
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