Perhaps no one in the entire NBA has had a more resurgent 2023-24 season than Boston Celtics wing Jaylen Brown. Entering the countryside, Brown was facing legitimate questions about the recent $300 million-plus contract he signed and mockery of his inability to dribble with his left hand after a series collapse against the Miami Heat in 2023, but the Celtics star He bounced back with the best season of his career and a Finals MVP trophy en route to helping his team win the championship.
In fact, Brown’s progression was so marked that even some his former teammates are surprised at how far he has come. One of those people is former Celtics guard Isaiah Thomaswho was a teammate of Brown’s during the latter’s rookie season in 2016-17, when the team made it to the Eastern Conference Finals. Recently, Thomas shared his thoughts on Brown’s progression during an appearance on the Knuckleheads podcast.
“I’m not going to lie, I didn’t see that at all. But you saw traits that made him great, he was always in the gym, he was always asking questions,” Thomas said. “I never really saw a rookie questioning himself about how to get better, how to do the right things to get on the field. So he was always a student of the game and he just worked.”
Thomas also gave examples of Brown’s willingness to learn at such a young age.
“Like he wanted to play one-on-one after practice,” Thomas said. “He wanted to do all those things. You saw his skills, but I’d be lying to you if I said he was going to be the Finals MVP. I didn’t know that, but I saw how special he could be.”
An exceptional season
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Jaylen Brown not only won Finals MVP for the Celtics with his effort against the Dallas Mavericks, but he also won the Eastern Conference Finals MVP in the previous round against the Indiana Pacers.
This has of course, predictably, sparked debates over who is better between him and fellow Celtics player Jayson Tatum, proving that the origins of these media-induced tensions have never been about the duo’s inability to win together, but rather the simple generation of headlines and controversy.
Either way, Brown and the Celtics will open the 2024-25 NBA season at home against the New York Knicks on Oct. 22.
