Celtics Star Jaylen Brown Sends Strong Message to NBA Teams Ahead of 2024-25 Season

Jaylen Brown knew winning his first NBA title wasn't going to be easy.

After all, it took several years of heartbreak and multiple deep playoff runs with one of them almost giving him a championship in 2022 before eventually falling to Golden State.

And after a nightmare playoff series in the East Finals against Miami in 2023, Brown redeemed himself by having the best postseason of his career to help co-star Jayson Tatum and the Celtics cement themselves as NBA champions the following year. He even won East Finals MVP and NBA Finals MVP in the process.

With the knowledge that the Celtics have targets on their backs as the reigning champions, Brown had a simple message for every opposing team looking to take their best shot against them as he enters his ninth season in the league.

"Now we got the target on our back. Everybody's trying to come after us and I'm like, "'come on,'" Brown said to NBC Sports Boston.

Brown signed a max contract extension in the 2023 offseason, then the richest player in NBA history at the time before Tatum took that title with his supermax extension. He averaged 23 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.6 assists on 49.9% shooting from the field and 35.4% from beyond the arc.

He followed that up with a strong overall performance in the playoffs. He put up 23.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.2 steals on 51.6% shooting overall. His display against Indiana in the East Finals was most noteworthy, torching the Pacers defense with 29.8 points, five rebounds, and three assists on excellent splits of 51.7% shooting from the field and 37% from downtown.

There is no doubt that teams will have the defending champions marked on their calendars, but from the looks of it, Brown and the Celtics will be waiting.

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