INDIANAPOLIS — As his name reverberated through the arena, Jaylen Brown stood at center court in shock, processing the fact he was just named the Eastern Conference Finals Most Valuable Player.
On paper, it wasn’t a stunning decision – Brown averaged 29.8 points per game, hit a game-tying three-pointer to give the Celtics life in Game 1, exploded for 40 points in Game 2, and perfectly set up Derrick White’s game-winning three-pointer in Game 4. Regardless of how you sliced it, at 27 years old, he’s smack in the middle of the most impressive playoff run of his career.
But, he didn’t see the honor coming from a mile away.
“I wasn’t expecting that at all,” Jaylen Brown said. “I don’t ever win s***.”
The statement is not entirely true – not on paper, at least. Drafted third overall, Brown was not overlooked the same way that a second-round prospect like Nikola Jokic might have been. And unlike Jamal Murray, who’s never been an All Star, Brown has been selected three times. The money has also followed his success; next season, he’ll be one of the highest-paid players in the league.
Still, anyone who has closely followed Brown’s journey through the NBA knows exactly what he was referring to in that moment – the distinct pattern of being overlooked, underrated, misunderstood.
Whether it was the infamous boos that inundated Barclays Center on the night he was drafted in 2016, the very legitimate reports he’d be traded for Kevin Durant, his surprising omission from the All-NBA team just last week, Jaylen Brown has endured moments of invalidation more frequently than the average NBA superstar, oftentimes living in the shadow of Jayson Tatum, his co-star.
Just last week, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith commented on Brown’s lack of marketability:
“I wanted to read to y’all what an NBA source just sent me,” Smith said on First Take. “He said, ‘Jaylen Brown, it’s not so much that he’s underrated, it’s that he’s just not liked because of his I-am-better-than-you attitude. He knows it. It’s the same reason he is not as marketable as he should be.’ That’s what an NBA source just sent me.”
Jaylen Brown fired back on X, tweeting: “State your source.”
“At this point, I’m at that phase in my life where I just embrace all forms of negativity or whatever the case is,” Brown said after Game 4. “Some stuff I don’t understand, it ain’t meant for me to understand it. But I just know who I am and what I stand for sometimes makes people feel uncomfortable, and sometimes I miss out on things, I miss out on opportunities, awards, marketing deals, or whatever the case may be.”
“At this point, I just embrace it. I am who I am, and I’m gonna stand on my beliefs. And I’m one of those people who would die for what they believe in. So, I just embrace it at this point, and I’m grateful that I’m able to be in this position, and the energy is about to shift.”
The series of a lifetime could only end one way
In four games against the Pacers, Brown averaged 29.8 points on 51.9% shooting, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. It was his highest-ever scoring average in a playoff series.
In the deciding game, he put up 29 points on 11-22 shooting, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block. Just like in Game 1, he was responsible for the biggest clutch-time sequence of the night, swatting an Andrew Nembhard layup on one end and setting up the game-winning shot at the other.
The well-roundedness of Jaylen Brown’s clutch impact was awesome last night.
✅ Game-tying step-through floater
✅ Steal on the next possession
✅ Blocked Nembhard’s go-ahead attempt
✅ Assisted on Derrick White’s game-winner pic.twitter.com/nm3tql5OAl— Taylor Snow (@taylorcsnow) May 28, 2024
“It was a hell of a pass,” Joe Mazzulla said. “And I had full faith he was going to make that read. It was a great read.”
Brown probably secured the ECF MVP in the second half, when he scored 19 points on 7-11 shots. That came after he started off slow, making just 1 of his first 6 field goals and 1 of his first 4 free throws. The likely front runner for the award through two games, Brown was looking shaky in the beginning, but turned things around to will the Celtics to victory in the second half.
“He was getting great shots the whole game, and I thought he just stayed with it, stayed poise,” Joe Mazzulla said. “He’s a guy that — you can’t shake him. He has great – just a short term memory. If he misses a shot, [it] never affects the next one.”
Perhaps most meaningfully, Brown stepped into a potential leadership void and solidified himself as an unwavering voice all year long.
“Marcus Smart, one of my brothers that got traded, he was one of the voices of our team,” Brown said. “And when he wasn’t here, I wanted to make sure I stepped in, make sure that everybody felt me and everybody knew what the standard was. And we didn’t skip no steps all season. I think we played the right way every single game, I’ve held everybody accountable, and this is the byproduct.”
Winning the Eastern Conference Finals MVP was never the goal — Brown made sure to immediately point out that after the game that he was just happy the Celtics were able to close it out.
But a few days after being left off of All-NBA, it was a sort of poetic justice for a guy coming off of the best year of his career. After a 40-point Game 2, Brown shrugged off not being named All-NBA.
“We two games from the Finals. Honestly, I don’t got the time to give a f***.”
Just four days later, Brown took home a far more meaningful honor that only two players in the world will earn this year.
With a grin plastered across Jrue Holiday recounted the moment that Jaylen Brown found out he was named Eastern Conference Finals MVP.
“It’s even better because he didn’t expect it,” Holiday said. “That didn’t matter to him. It was about winning, and whatever it took, however long it took. When you have that mentality and that mindset, you see great people getting rewarded for the things that they do. It just brings joy.”
