NBA Blog – NBA Basketball Blog
NBA Blog: The NBA basketball news blog section of Inside Hoops
One quick example, in the all-time Boston Celtics playoff scoring leaders (total points) list:
1) Larry Bird 3,897
2) John Havlicek 3,776
3) Kevin McHale 3,182
4) Sam Jones 2,909
5) Paul Pierce 2,843
6) Jayson Tatum 2,711
7) Robert Parish 2,683
8) Bill Russell 2,673
9) Jaylen Brown 2,365
10) Tom Heinsohn 2,058
The Boston Celtics have agreed to a contract extension with All-NBA forward Jaylen Brown.
Brown signed the contract at MIT’s Media Lab where he was hosting his 7uice Foundation’s Bridge program.
The deal is reportedly a five-year contract extension worth $304 million.
“I appreciate the investment and commitment from the Celtics and from the rest of the community. That investment and commitment will be felt in return from me here in Boston, on and off the floor, but also hopefully soon, around the world,” said Jaylen Brown. “The Bridge program students being here is special for me today; you guys represent the next generation, you represent the future, and everything I do is try to make this world a better place.”
“Jaylen Brown brings passionate energy and excellence to whatever he does, on the court and in the community,” said Wyc Grousbeck, Boston Celtics Lead Owner. “Jaylen is absolutely key to our relentless drive to win Banner 18. I’m very glad to be celebrating this partnership with him today.”
Brown was selected to his first All-NBA team last season when he was named to the 2022-23 Kia All-NBA Second Team after he appeared in 67 games (all starts) and made his second-consecutive All-Star game. The Georgia native averaged career-highs of 26.6 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 3.5 assists, as well as his best field goal percentage (49.1) and free-throw percentage (76.5).
“We are thrilled that Jaylen has decided to extend his contract and remain a Celtic for a long time,” said Brad Stevens, President of Basketball Operations. “In addition to his individual accolades, Jaylen has been one of the NBA’s winningest players in both the regular and postseason over the past seven years. I’ve been so impressed with how he has attacked every day with a relentless work ethic, a desire to improve, and a competitiveness to help his team win. Equally as impressive is his continued commitment to making a difference in the community.”
The seven-year NBA veteran was originally drafted by Boston with the third overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, and is the longest tenured Celtic entering this year. In 470 career games (363 starts), Brown has averaged 17.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.0 steals in 29.7 minutes per game, while shooting 47.7 percent from the field and 36.5 percent from three-point range.
Brown ranks fifth in franchise history in made three-point field goals with 883 threes and moved into 17th on the Celtics’ all-time scoring list with 8,428 points. Brown became the seventh Celtic since 1994 to reach 1,000 career assists before turning 27 years old when he dished out a season-high nine assists on March 6, 2023 (26 yrs, 133 d).
Brown has led the Celtics to the playoffs in each of his seven seasons, including five Eastern Conference Finals appearances and a trip to the 2022 NBA Finals. Brown is tied for the 14th-most playoff appearances in franchise history with 105 games and ranks 11th in scoring with 1,911 points in the postseason.
Per Boston.com:
“Just a terrible game when my team needed me most,” Brown said. “JT hurt his ankle first play of the game and you could see it swelling up on him. He couldn’t move out there. It was tough on him. My team turned to me to make plays and I came up short.”
Brown shot 8–23 overall, including 1–9 from three, for the game. Three more turnovers than assists were his. While he was in attack mode, the Celtics’ offense sputtered and was unable to produce enough open shots to catch Miami.
The 84 points Boston scored were its fewest in a postseason game.
“Offensively, it just seemed like we couldn’t hit a shot,” Brown said. “It put more pressure on our defense. We had a bunch of good looks and nothing went in. We all have to sit back and reflect on that.”
Via ESPN.com:
Most Valuable Player Joel Embiid was named to the All-NBA first team for the first time in his career as the league unveiled all three of its All-NBA squads Wednesday night, while LeBron James extended his all-time record to 19 selections.
Embiid was joined on the first team by Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic and Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry headlined the second team with his ninth selection. He was joined by Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell, Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler and Celtics forward Jaylen Brown.
James, who has now made an All-NBA team for 19 straight seasons, missing out only in his rookie year, led the third-team selections, along with a pair of Sacramento Kings — center Domantas Sabonis and guard De’Aaron Fox. They were joined by Portland Trail Bla
Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown has been named the NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week, the NBA announced today. Brown earns his third career nod and this award marks the 67th overall honor for a Celtics player in franchise history. Brown joins Derrick White (2/12) and Jayson Tatum (10/23) as the third player to receive the recognition this season. The last team to have three players earn a weekly honor in a single season was Toronto (2019-20).
Brown led the Celtics to a 3-0 week with wins over San Antonio (137-93), Indiana (120-95), and Sacramento (132-109), while averaging 31.7 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 3.7 assists in 34.6 minutes per game. Brown was the only player in the Eastern Conference to average at least 30 points while shooting better than 55.0 percent from the field and 39.0 percent from three-point range.
If you’re looking for a guarantee that Jaylen Brown and the Celtics will stick together for many years to come, prepare to be disappointed. Via Boston.com:
Jaylen Brown sent some Celtics fans into a panic with candid comments about his future in Boston earlier this week.
The 26-year-old wing, who will become a free agent in 2024, was noncommittal when asked during an interview with The Ringer about his plans once his contract expires.
“I don’t know. As long as I’m needed. It’s not up to me,” Brown said. “We’ll see how they feel about me over time and I feel about them over time. Hopefully, whatever it is, it makes sense. But I will stay where I’m wanted. I will stay where I’m needed and treated correct.”
This is no big deal. It’s too soon to worry. But keep this in the back of your mind once summer of 2023 free agency begins. And move it towards the front of your mind as the 2023-24 season progresses.
For additional quotes that paint a fuller picture, click that link above.
Some sports marketing news, via ESPN.com:
Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown said he believes joining up with Kayne West’s marketing firm is the start of a “beautiful collaboration.”
It became public this week that the Celtics forward was the first NBA player to sign with Donda Sports, a fledgling marketing company that is part of West’s larger clothing line. Los Angeles Rams star Aaron Donald recently said he’d joined the firm.
With the NBA Finals set to begin, Donda Sports would be smart to issue a press release on this, sooner rather than later.
Here’s the Boston Herald on Jaylen Brown and the Celtics:
Jaylen Brown missed last season’s first-round loss to the Nets due to wrist surgery and it’s not hard to tell that the young Celtics star has some pent-up enthusiasm this time around for a Brooklyn rematch set to begin on Sunday in the Garden.
“You could tell (by the) smile on my face, right?” he said after Thursday’s practice.
“Yeah, it’s exciting. I’ve had a little bit of trouble sleeping. So I’m just trying to calm myself down,” he said. “I’m ready to go, I’m excited, it’s playoff time, it’s the best time of the year. This is what you work for. So ultimately, going out there and just breathing and being yourself is going to be key because I know it’s gonna be a lot of energy in the Garden, there’s gonna be a lot of energy in the arena. So sometimes the more calm, relaxed player is the one who gets the advantage. So just trying to stay balanced as much as possible, but I’m definitely excited.
And now for the hard part. How not for Brown and Jayson Tatum to get too caught up in the scoring derby that Kevin Durant and their former teammate, Kyrie Irving, are about to launch. The Nets are best in the league when it comes to isolation basketball. Indeed, Durant and Irving are two of the most gifted man-to-man scorers in the history of the game.
“It’s exciting. What more could you ask for?” said Brown.
The Celtics tonight welcome a very important player back in action. Via ESPN.com:
The Boston Celtics had forward Jaylen Brown back in the lineup for the first time in two weeks Monday against the Houston Rockets after he missed the prior eight games with a right hamstring strain.
“He’ll be on limited minutes,” Celtics coach Ime Udoka said before the game. “[We’ll] try to keep him around 24 minutes — probably four six-minute stints. Keep it lower, keep him away from fatigue.
“We’ll monitor that, just see how he feels.”
The NBA season started yesterday, and the Celtics have their first game of the new year tonight. Fortunately for them, young star Jaylen Brown will be in action. Here’s ESPN.com on what Brown just went through:
Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown, who tested positive for COVID-19 on Oct. 8, will be in the starting lineup for Wednesday’s opener against the New York Knicks, coach Ime Udoka said.
Brown, who had been listed as questionable on Tuesday afternoon, said he had “some mild symptoms for the most part,” including some breathing issues that he used meditation to navigate through.
“The most concerning was my breathing,” Brown said. “I had to really focus to get my breathing kind of back to normal. … But the more I focused on it, the better I was able to gain more efficiency in it.”