As the 2024-25 NBA season approaches, various predictions and controversial takes have started to trick out regarding the potential NBA champion, league MVP, rookie of the year, and more.
As the defending champions, the Boston Celtics' roster is often discussed. Stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown were hot topics last season, especially toward the end, as people constantly battled over who the most influential player was during Boston's title run.
Boston's postseason leader
For all the dominance the Celtics displayed during the 2023–24 regular season, winning 64 games, there were questions about whether they could replicate their form in the postseason.
A big chunk of Boston's playoff form came from Brown having the best postseason of his career. Averaging 23.9 points on 51.6% shooting, JB won the Eastern Conference Finals MVP and the NBA Finals MVP while leading the Green and White to their first championship in 16 years.
Tatum, who came sixth in the NBA MVP voting, was touted by many to take home the ECF MVP and the Finals MVP. However, he was beaten to it by his teammate, who many, including decorated sports commentator Skip Bayless, agreed had a better postseason.
"Jaylen Brown is the baddest man in basketball. Jaylen Brown is the baddest man on the basketball planet," Bayless said . "Nobody plays with more clutch fury than this man—last year's MVP, of course, in the conference finals and the finals. Jayson Tatum is a nice player; he's a little taller and a little more all-around talented than the co-star that he barely co-exists with, that's JB. But Jaylen Brown has it."
In the 2023 ECF, Brown had one of his worst postseason games. In a pivotal Game 7 against the Miami Heat , No. 7 shot at a dismal 8-of-23 from the field and committed eight turnovers that night as the Celtics missed out on back-to-back NBA Finals appearances.
Impressing when it mattered
Just over a year after that forgettable Game 7, Brown went on a redemption mission as he concluded a dominant postseason display in the finals. Boston came into Game 3 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas holding a 2-0 series lead. Boston had a comfortable 21-point lead to start the fourth quarter after a pair of 3-pointers from Brown and Derrick White.
However, in the blink of an eye, the Dallas Mavericks closed the lead to two points with just over a minute to play. With the Mavs gaining momentum, JB called for a pass, picked his spot, and hit a mid-range shot to kill Dallas' spirit. They failed to score any field goals for the remainder of the game.
"Jaylen Brown is the coldest-blooded basketball killer on that team... Jaylen will never win a regular season MVP, but trust me, he's the driving force of this team; he's the clutch assassin; he's the one who scares me when I'm rooting against the Celtics, not JT," Bayless continued.
In Game 5, the Celtics closed the series and won their 18th championship, the most in NBA history. The packed TD Garden applauded as Brown was awarded the Bill Russell trophy as the finals MVP, with many agreeing it was well deserved.
Related: "He is an MVP candidate who can't win the MVP" - Skip feels sorry for JB for not reaching his full potential because of Tatum
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