Indiana led 117-114 with 8.5 seconds remaining. Boston desperately needed a three-pointer to force overtime. Inbounding from the baseline, the Celtics drew up a play for Jaylen Brown to get loose in the corner. It worked—but not exactly as they envisioned. Brown got open, but by the time he caught the ball, Pascal Siakam had already closed out, not letting him fire.
Brown pump-faked and created just enough space. Leaning backward, he launched a high-arcing three, falling away as he watched it splash through the net.
Bang! The arena erupted.
Brown sent the game to overtime, where the stunned Pacers couldn't recover. Boston outlasted Indiana 133-128 to take Game 1. Brown finished with 26 points, seven rebounds, and five assists.
Awards and reaching the pinnacle
The Celtics went on to dominate this series, too. They kept the momentum, sweeping the Pacers 4-0. Brown kept shining, earning the Larry Bird Eastern Conference Finals MVP Award. In the grand finale, Boston squared up against the Dallas Mavericks.
Luka Doncic averaged nearly 30 points per game for Dallas, but even he couldn’t stop the well-oiled Boston machine. The Celtics were unstoppable. Powered by Brown’s extraordinary performances, the team edged the Mavericks 4-1, clinching their 18th NBA title.
After averaging 23.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 51.6% from the floor in the playoffs, Brown was named the Finals MVP.
The award didn’t honor just his offensive contributions – he was also the primary defender on Doncic, and earned recognition for his two-way play, as he slowed down one of the most skilled competitors in the league.
Born and raised in Georgia, Brown graduated from high school with countless accolades and national honors. A five-star recruit, he committed to the University of California, Berkeley, where he suited up for the Golden Bears during the 2015-16 season.
He made an immediate impact, averaging 14.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game in his lone collegiate campaign. Brown was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and earned First Team All-Pac-12 honors.
Praised for his athleticism, relentless motor, and shot-making ability, Brown declared for the 2016 NBA Draft following his successful first year.
The Boston Celtics drafted him third overall.
In his debut season in the pros, Brown appeared in 78 games and made 20 starts. He averaged 6.6 points and 2.8 rebounds in 17.2 minutes per contest and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team. He committed his off-season to getting better. The franchise also drafted Jayson Tatum, allowing the two to form one of the most dynamic and offensive duos in the league.
In his second season, teammates Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving went down with injuries, suddenly giving Brown prime-time minutes. He capitalized on the opportunity – he shot 39.5% from beyond the arc, averaged 14.5 points, and established himself as a defensive menace.
In the postseason, he scored 30 points against the Milwaukee Bucks, becoming the youngest-ever Celtic to do so.
Struggles and rock bottom
The Cleveland Cavaliers eliminated Boston in the Eastern Conference Finals. Despite the painful exit, Brown was excited about the upcoming year. Ready to build on the momentum.
Instead, the beginning of the season turned into a disaster.
Boston started 10-10, far from their expectations. And Brown took the blame. Then he found himself in the middle of the crisis, receiving all the criticism. He heard it all - he was taking too many tough two-point shots. He lacked discipline and focus. Looked detached from the team.
And while those statements could have been subjective, the numbers didn’t lie.
In the first 20 games, with Brown on the court, the Celtics averaged 100.4 points per game, the worst mark in the NBA. However, without Brown, the team ranked 10th offensively.
He was shooting just 25.3% from three, ranking 122nd out of 123 who attempted at least 75 shots. In the Real Plus-Minus statistic, Brown ranked 417th out of 430 players, signaling that his defensive production dipped as well.
The Celtics removed him from the starting lineup, hoping that a reserve role would jump-start his career.
“It’s probably been the hardest thing I’ve had to deal with so far in my career,” said Brown. “Just coming from a position where you had so much responsibility, and now that responsibility is lessened. Expectations have been raised, but your responsibility goes down, so it’s hard to reach those expectations when you aren’t being asked to do as much. It’s been a challenge. It’s going to continue to be a challenge. It’s all about your mindset, so that’s what I’m focusing on.”
Step-by-step, Brown started getting better. Gaining more rhythm. Taking better shots. Listening to the guidance of his teammates. In a little while, he was excelling in his off-the-bench role. He found favor in the eyes of the former president of basketball operations, Danny Ainge, too.
“I think in 18 years in professional sports, I had the role I really wanted, maybe five out of those 18 years,” Ainge said. “But you have to make the best out of what you have.”
Brown did exactly that. He made the most out of his limited minutes.
“So, here’s my reality: I’m an NBA player on the Boston Celtics team that has a chance to compete for the NBA championship. Nothing else really matters,” Brown said.
Rising to the occasion
The experience became a turning point.
In October 2019, Brown signed a four-year, $115 million contract extension. He returned to the starting lineup and never looked back.
The following season, he earned his first All-Star selection. In 2022, he helped lead the Celtics to the NBA Finals. A year later, he was named to the All-NBA First Team and signed another extension worth up to $304 million, surpassing Nikola Jokić's $276 million deal as the richest contract in NBA history at the time.
He capped off his record-setting season by leading Boston to the ultimate prize—an NBA championship.
In 2025, the Celtics fell short to the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The series loss buried their hopes for back-to-back championships. Tatum suffered a torn Achilles, leaving a significant hole in Boston’s production.
Brown put Boston on his back, taking over Tatum’s portion. In his latest season, he averaged 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 5.1 assists – all career-highs.
Then, in March, Tatum returned to the hardwood. The star duo was reunited—until shocking news shook the NBA. On July 1st, the Celtics announced they had traded Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Paul George, two first-round picks, and two second-round picks.
The world went silent.
It hasn’t been that speechless since the Mavericks gave up Doncic to the Lakers. The Brown trade felt like the NBA went back in time. Boston dumped one of its biggest superstars.
Brown said he was “excited and disappointed.”
“Saying goodbye isn’t easy when you’ve invested your heart into something,” Brown said. “The relationships I built here, the battles we fought together, the championship we brought to this city, and the connection I shared with the fans, I’ll carry on with me.”
Unexplainable change of direction
After coming off a career season and finishing sixth in the MVP voting, the 29-year-old veteran didn’t expect to move to a different address. Furthermore, the address of his rival. Just like the Chicago Bulls hate the Detroit Pistons, the Boston Celtics hate the Philadelphia 76ers. The feud dates to the 1960s, and the rivalry has endured through decades.
Now, Brown is on the other side.
“You play on a team with a guy for nine years,” said Tatum. “I was fortunate enough to go to the NBA Finals with him twice, and win a championship, and push each other to be the players that we are today. It’s tough. But it just makes you appreciate the moments and time that we had. Obviously, it came to an abrupt ending, but it doesn't mean that it wasn’t super successful. Great years, obviously, that he gave to the city and to the organization.”
The trade is yet to make sense.
The current president of basketball operations, Brad Stevens, cited salary cap problems and better future roster flexibility. But there were various unofficial reasons that raised eyebrows. Several scouts claimed that the partnership between Brown and Tatum ran cold. According to those reports, the front office managed the tension for years, but once the championship celebration faded, those underlying issues resurfaced.
Others pointed out Brown’s strong personality and reluctance to adapt to changes. For the guard to be successful, he needs to have the ball in his hands and take a lot of shots.
This past season, he averaged 21.7 shots taken per game – only trailing behind Doncic, who led the NBA with 22.8 attempted field goals. He also took the second-most long midrange jumpers in the league, and only 16% of his shots were at the rim.
League insiders argued that Boston didn’t want to commit long-term to Brown, and the best time to trade him was now, when he’s in his prime. Only time will tell if the decision to let him go was right.
The Celtics will strive to justify their choice by winning another championship, while Brown will do everything in his power to bring the crown to Philadelphia. The 76ers haven’t stood on top since 1983, and undeniably, Brown has what it takes to transform a franchise.
If he remains efficient and puts his team first.