Jaylen Brown has watched his Boston Celtics fall hard over the last several months. First, Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles during the second round of the playoffs. Then, the Celtics traded Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday and allowed both Al Horford and Luke Kornet to depart via free agency.
The Celtics are just two seasons removed from winning a championship, but title contention will almost certainly be out of reach for Boston during the 2025-26 campaign. So what does that mean for Brown?
Brown will be entering his first season ever as a lead scorer for the C's, and while he has averaged well over 20 points per game six years in a row, he did that as the No. 2 behind Tatum. Can he deliver as the top option?
Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes isn't so sure, labeling Brown as the Celtics' biggest faller heading into the new NBA season and thinks the 28-year-old could be in for a rough year.
"Brown's scoring average dipped to a five-year-low of 22.2 points per game last season. Maybe he'll beat that number as Boston's alpha stand-in for Tatum, but Brown is bound to have major efficiency struggles," Hughes wrote. "A shaky handle, inconsistent three-point shooting and durability issues that make big minutes dangerous (Brown hasn't played more than 70 games since he was a sixth man in 2018-19) will all be more clearly exposed with less talent surrounding him."
Hughes went on to suggest that Brown could miss his first All-Star team since 2022, which is entirely possible given the circumstances surrounding him.
Brown underwent knee surgery back in June after battling through the injury throughout the entirety of the 2024-25 campaign He should obviously be good to go for the regular season, but will he experience after effects?
The four-time All-Star is a terrific player, but whether or not he is actually a No. 1 guy has long been a hot debate. More than likely, Brown is just a very good No. 2 who can moonlight as a No. 1 on occasion, but not for a whole season.
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