Jaylen Brown arrived in Boston in 2016 and has made a home in the city. Once a wide-eyed rookie who immediately showcased supreme athleticism, Brown has blossomed into one of the NBA's best two-way players. He capped off a career year for himself and his team with an NBA title, earning the Larry Bird Eastern Conference Finals MVP trophy and the Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP trophy. Brown has routinely added to his game every summer since coming into the league and has been a joy for Celtics fans to watch develop in front of their eyes. Here are some of the most defining moments of Brown's career so far with Boston.
5. Boo'ed On Draft Night
The Boston Celtics held the third overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft and selected Jaylen Brown, a freshman out of Cal Berkley. Despite the Celtics owner addressing the crowd at the draft welcoming Brown to Boston, boos cascaded down towards the stage. The Celtics were coming off a mediocre season with a rebuilding roster, and fans didn't think Brown was the missing piece. Fans clamored for a Jimmy Butler trade to Boston or for the Celtics to draft one of Kris Dunn or Jamal Murray instead.
Some criticized Brown for being "too smart for basketball." Celtics general manager at the time, Danny Ainge, saw a hard-working, intelligent player who had all the physical traits to grow into a star. Brown didn't let the fans concern him, citing his excitement about starting in Boston.
"I'm going to war for this city," Brown said on draft night.
4. Game Winner In Utah
The 2017-18 season was a massive year for the growth of Boston's young studs, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. Five minutes into the season, a season-ending injury to newly signed Celtic Gordon Hayward forced Brown and Tatum further up the food chain.
Jaylen Brown came into the league with a raw athletic ability but quickly added to his game. He jumped from 34% shooting from deep his rookie year to nearly 40% the following season. Another area where Jaylen has always excelled is taking the big shot with the game on the line. With as much attention as his running mate Jayson Tatum garners from opposing defenses, Brown has often received a kick-out pass to the corner or wing for a three.
In March of 2018, the Celtics were facing the Jazz in the final game of a West Coast road trip. They had gone 3-0 on the trip so far, with wins in Portland, Sacramento, and Phoenix.
With the game tied in Salt Lake City and just seconds remaining, point guard Shane Larkin drove and kicked it out from underneath the basket to Semi Ojeleye on the wing. Ojeleye kept it moving to Brown, who was backpedaling behind the three-point line at the top of the key. He caught it, put up the three, and fell backward onto the ground as time expired.
The shot fell through the net, and the Celtics won as Jayson Tatum celebrated with Brown by playfully punching Brown's chest in celebration while he was still on the floor, taking in his game-winner. A considerable shot early in Brown's career that set the stage for more to come.
3. Career-High Versus Orlando
The true mark of a star is stepping up for your team when they need somebody to carry the load for a stretch of the game. Jaylen Brown put the league on notice in early January of 2022 when he erupted for a career-high 50 points against the Orlando Magic.
It was anybody's game for most of the night as the score remained close despite Brown scoring at will. He cut to the basket for layups, scored on and-ones muscling through defenders, and knocked down 5-10 of his three-point attempts on the night. The Celtics suddenly found themselves trailing 14 points in the 4th quarter, but Brown wasn't quite finished.
In the 4th quarter alone, Brown scored 21 points on 9-12 shooting as he helped Boston come back and force overtime. With 1:30 left in overtime, he hit his final three of the night to give the Celtics a four point lead. Brown finished the night with 50 points on 19-29 shooting, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks and a steal. He willed his team to a win on a night without his co-star Jayson Tatum.
2. Brown Forces Overtime Against Pacers
When all hope was lost, once again, Jaylen Brown refused to say die. Boston's chances were slim, with the Celtics down three points and 5.7 seconds remaining, and the Pacers were about to inbound the ball. According to ESPN, Indiana had a 97.4% win probability in Game 1 of the Eastern Finals before they made the inbounds pass.
Brown managed to get a hand on the ball as it was inbounded to Pascal Siakim, and he rebounded it off Siakim and out of bounds. It was Celtics ball.
Brown relocated to the corner as Jrue Holiday got set to inbound the ball. He found Brown in the corner, who hesitated for a split-second before rising up for the shot with zero airspaces between him and Sikkim. The ball somehow found the bottom of the net, and the TD Garden crowd erupted as the game headed to overtime.
The game-saving shot killed Indiana's momentum in the series, a crushing blow for a team that knew it needed to steal a game on the road. The Pacers held an 18-point lead in Game 3 back inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse but could not hold off the Celtics, who rallied from behind for the win. If not for Brown's heroics in Game 1, the series could have shaken out much differently. Instead, the Celtics went up 3-0 after the first three contests, effectively ending the series.
1. Jaylen Brown's NBA Finals Game 3
The Celtics arrived in Dallas for Game 3 of the 2024 NBA Finals, looking to take a commanding 3-0 series lead. After the first half, in which Jayson Tatum scored 20 points to keep Boston within one point of Dallas, it was Brown's turn to pick up the slack.
Jaylen Brown scored 24 30 points in Game 3 alone during the second half. He had a thunderous dunk near the end of the third quarter that stunned the Dallas crowd as Boston took a 15-point lead.
Brown also continued to relentlessly pursue Luka Dončić on both ends of the court. He attacked him on offense with countless drives to the basket, forcing the Mavs' defense into rotation. He was one of the main reasons why Dončić fouled out of the pivotal Game 3.
Jaylen finished the night with one of his best all-around performances of the postseason run, putting up 30 points, eight rebounds, eight assists, and a block.
“I think this team has trusted me, especially in these playoffs and those moments, just to be who I am,” Brown said. “I felt like I’ve been able to just deliver by being patient and poised. Those opportunities have presented themselves, and I’ve been able to take advantage of them.
Bonus: Dunk On the King
For a player who seems to have a poster dunk against every team in the league, it's easy to imagine that a poster on LeBron James himself would be on his bucket list.
Brown has never been one to shy away from a meeting at the rim. Some of his best dunks have come against players such as OG Anunoby, Rudy Gobert, Giannis Antetokounmpo (multiple posters), and now-teammate Kristaps Porzingis.
In January 2020, the Celtics hosted the Lakers inside TD Garden. In the opening minutes of the third quarter, Brown got the ball and drove while keeping his defender, Danny Green, on his hip. He noticed big man Anthony Davis guarding near the top of the key, so Brown focused on the rim.
Brown accelerated past Green and saw James was the only person between him and the basket. He leapt off two feet and rose above LeBron for the two-handed throwdown, and Lakers coach Frank Vogel immediately called timeout as Celtics fans showered Brown with cheers. It's safe to say Brown's dunk over the King will be one to remember.
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