Jaylen Brown, LeBron James
The Boston Celtics walked into Los Angeles and delivered a statement. After a commanding 111-89 win over the Lakers on Sunday night, LeBron James made sure the spotlight stayed on Jaylen Brown.
Brown finished with 32 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals, controlling the game on both ends, NESN reports. But the numbers only told part of the story. In the locker room afterward, James publicly questioned why Brown’s name does not carry more weight in the MVP race.
“This whole MVP thing, I don’t understand why his name is not getting talked about some as well,” James told reporters, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “Like, nobody gave them a shot to start the season. And he’s averaging what, 30? Just under 30? It’s a popularity contest sometimes, I tell you.”
LeBron Challenges the MVP Conversation
James framed Brown’s season around context. Boston entered the year with skepticism swirling after roster turnover and the absence of Jayson Tatum. Many projected regression. Instead, the Celtics improved to 37-19 and climbed to second in the Eastern Conference.
“I think he just used the motivation of a lot of people just saying that they’re going to have a down year,” James said. “The whole championship team pretty much is kind of revamped, and he used it as motivation to keep them afloat. They’re playing great basketball, and it’s because of him and the rest of those guys. He’s taken that next step.”
James is absolutely correct with his assessment. Brown has a solid cast of support, players that anytime would love to have as role guys, but Brown is the fuel making sure the Celtics train gets to where it’s going.
Brown entered Sunday averaging 29.2 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. Still, he placed sixth in ESPN’s latest straw poll conducted by Tim Bontemps. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dominated the voting with 78 first-place votes, while Nikola Jokić followed with 18. None of the 100 respondents ranked Brown higher than third.
The gap between production and recognition clearly stood out to James.
Brown Responds With Confidence, Not Distraction
Brown did not campaign for himself, per Bleacher Report. He leaned into identity instead of narrative.
“Who I am, I feel like I’m the best two-way player in the world,” Brown said. “I play both ends on the court night-to-night. I’m available, which is hard to do. I’m a leader. Help lead my team, empower my team to come out and play confidently, stuff that doesn’t always show up on the analytics. And I’m a winner. I come out and try to win every single night.”
He also reflected on his first NBA start during the 2016-17 season against James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Brown remembered James pulling him aside that night. Years later at All-Star Weekend, they revisited that moment.
“We talked about that at the All-Star Game,” Brown said. “‘You remember that 10 years ago?’ And he smiles like, ‘Of course, you know, I’m not surprised at anything you’re doing right now. So just keep proving people wrong.’”
With more than a month remaining in the regular season, the MVP picture can still shift. Brown faces steep competition, but his production and team success continue to build a compelling case. James made one thing clear, the conversation should include him.