Jaylen Brown has proven a lot of people wrong this season.
Entering the year, there were plenty of questions about whether or not Brown could lead the Celtics as a true No. 1 option. When your play puts you in the same statistical company as Larry Bird, there is little left to argue, which is exactly the level Brown has reached in December.
Brown has scored 30 or more points in all nine games this month, tying Bird for the most consecutive 30-point games in franchise history. Remarkably, his nine December 30-point games match his total from all of last season. Zooming out a little further, Brown has scored 30+ points in 12 of 13 games, and in the one game that didn’t hit that mark, he put up a 19-point, 12-rebound, 11-assist triple-double.
“It’s extremely difficult. And not even that, it’s even harder for a guy like him to play balanced basketball and play team basketball,” head coach Joe Mazzulla said when asked about Brown tying Bird’s record. “It’s extremely difficult to play well-balanced basketball. And I think that’s something that he does consistently for us, whether it’s with his playmaking or his defense, on both ends of the floor.”
Brown’s December numbers are nothing short of monstrous. With one game left to play, he is averaging a league-high 32.7 points per game on 54.4% shooting from the field and 43.2% from three, along with 6.6 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 1.1 steals. Only Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic have posted comparable numbers this month.
It’s easy to focus on the scoring — after all, his 32.7 points per game mark is the highest December average in Celtics history — but this dominant stretch goes well beyond that. Brown ranks second on the team in rebounds (59), third in assists (44), and is tied for third in steals (10). Of the nine games he’s played this month, he has led the Celtics in scoring eight times, in assists three times, and in rebounds three times.
Most importantly, amid Brown’s tear, the Celtics are 8-3 in December, tied for the third-best win percentage in the NBA, and have climbed from eighth in the Eastern Conference all the way up to third.
While December has been his loudest statement, Brown has been steadily dominant all season as the Celtics’ No. 1 option. He is averaging career highs in points (29.7) and assists (4.8) while shooting a career-best 50.6% from the field. In franchise history, only Jayson Tatum (30.1 points per game in 2022-23) and Larry Bird (29.9 points per game in 1987-88) have averaged more points in a single season. His 19 30-point games are the most in the Eastern Conference, and second-most in the NBA, trailing only Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (21).
Through 29 games, Brown has led the Celtics in scoring 24 times, assists 12 times (second-most), and rebounds seven times (second-most).
A lot has had to go right for the Celtics to exceed preseason expectations. Nobody predicted they would be third in the Eastern Conference with the fourth-ranked offense and a top-five net rating. The All-NBA-level play from Brown has arguably been the most significant factor in getting them there.
“He’s been unbelievable. Every night he shows up, and he’s a big leader for us on and off the court,” Derrick White said. “So he’s been just unbelievable all year. He’s one of the best players in the NBA, and he’s been showing it every night.”
Related
