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Why Jaylen Brown doesn’t ‘give a [expletive]’ about his All-NBA snub
“I watch guys get praised and anointed who I feel like are half as talented as me on either side of the ball."
Jaylen Brown was well aware of the discourse surrounding him in the lead-up to Thursday’s Game 2 matchup against the Pacers.
Despite submitting another impressive campaign as Boston’s No. 2 scoring option, the 27-year-old swingman did not land on any of the three All-NBA teams this season — a sought-after accolade doled out to the 15 best players in the league.
Brown, who was an All-NBA Second Team honoree last season, came up just 20 points behind Suns guard Devin Booker for the final spot on this year’s All-NBA Third Team.
As expected, several of Brown’s teammates praised his talents and bemoaned his absence on an All-NBA team on Thursday.
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But after tying his playoff career-high with 40 points in Boston’s 126-110 win over the Pacers, Brown brushed aside talk of any perceived snub — focusing instead on the collective task at hand.
“No, I wouldn’t say that,” Brown said of using the All-NBA team omission as motivation. “We’re two games from the Finals, so I honestly don’t have time to give a [expletive].”
Rather, Brown let his play do the talking on Thursday night at TD Garden.
After helping Boston snatch an overtime win over Indiana in Game 1 off of his clutch, game-tying basket, Brown helped his team secure a comfortable 2-0 series in the Eastern Conference Finals — sinking 14 of his 27 field goals and finishing with a +18 rating.
Even though Jayson Tatum — Boston’s lone All-NBA selection this season — said that the team didn’t discuss Brown’s omission during shoot-around on Thursday morning, he did join the growing chorus of Celtics players vouching for Brown’s standing as one of the game’s top players.
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“We were just focused on winning the game tonight. We all felt like, internally, he should have made the All-NBA teams, so it’s a shame to see that he didn’t,” Tatum noted.
Even though Brown didn’t harp on any motivation drawn from these All-NBA selections, his coach admitted that any perceived slights have fueled Brown over the years and made him a greater talent on the court.
“I think he cares about it in a way that motivates him,” Joe Mazzulla said. “And I think he doesn’t really care about it at all — because he understands that … winning is the most important thing. And so, he has an innate ability to just get better and to work hard. He has unreal confidence, but he’s also not afraid to work on things and he knows he has to get better at.”
Eventually, Brown did relent when asked about his reputation across the league and how some might view him among the top stars in the NBA. He didn’t mince words.
“I watch guys get praised and anointed who I feel like are half as talented as me on either side of the ball,” Brown said. “But at this point in my life, I just embrace it. It comes with being who I am and what I stand for, and I’m not changing that.”
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