Jaylen Brown and the Boston Celtics completed a sweep of the Tyrese Haliburton-less Indiana Pacers, earning them a spot in the NBA Finals for the second time in 3 seasons. Brown would have a performance befitting of a star in this league, averaging 29 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. This would earn him the Eastern Conference Finals MVP award, being presented with the Larry Bird trophy.
Brown is coming off of a season where he made his 3rd All-Star game, having a fantastic playoff run that saw his squad lose just two games so far, and having his team on the cusp of winning the franchise’s first championship since the Pierce-Garnett-Allen era. It begs whether Brown was worth the brand-new contract he signed in the offseason.
Jaylen Brown Seeing Green
The contract in question is a 5-year, $303.7 million supermax extension, where Brown would earn $52.3 million next season when the extension takes effect and $69.1 million in the final year of the deal. This makes Brown the first player in NBA history to receive a $300 million contract.
This raised a lot of eyebrows at the time, you could say it was because he’s not that good or even that he’s not the best player on his team, the whole thing about Brown not being able to dribble with his left hand, amongst other things. His performance against the Miami Heat didn’t help his case, having 19 points on 39 percent shooting from the field to go along with 8 turnovers in an extremely disappointing outing at the Boston Garden.
There was even a narrative being spun that there was turmoil between Brown and fellow star & teammate Jayson Tatum, which has sense been called “bulls—” by Boston coach Joe Mazzulla.
Yes, of course, Jayson Tatum is the de-facto face of the Celtics and even one of the faces of the NBA now, but Jaylen Brown is no sidekick. He has proven to be a true X-Factor for the Celtics squad.
Jaylen Brown: Is He A Star?
Brown has been among the more underrated players in the NBA since being drafted 3rd overall in 2016. With Jayson Tatum being drafted the following year at the same spot, and having to play with a star like Kyrie Irving early on, he didn’t stick out, despite playing well and improving throughout his career.
Since becoming a true focal point of this team, he’s become a 3-time All-Star and an All-NBA Selection. Brown has been able to take over games when needed, picking up the slack when Jayson Tatum is having an off night. Brown has also played the role of closer so many times for Boston, not scared to take the big shot in clutch moments, like the ridiculous three-pointer from the corner over Indiana’s Pascal Siakam to force overtime in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. He has been consistently able to show up for this group, and Boston will need him at his best for the Finals.
Will He Keep it up in the NBA Finals?
You have to wonder what version of Jaylen Brown the Celtics are going to get when they look to win a record 18th NBA Championship when they meet MVP finalist Luka Doncic and the aforementioned former Celtic Kyrie Irving, a duo that has been lethal in these playoffs for the Dallas Mavericks. Though the Celtics are favorited, Dallas just dispatched the best team in the Western Conference without barely breaking a sweat.
They may need more than just just Jaylen Brown in order to win it all, but we know that he will be up for the task.
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