BOSTON — Last season, the Boston Celtics had two representatives on the NBA’s All-Defensive Teams—Jrue Holiday and Derrick White. Both guards were elite on that end of the court, and Boston was home to one of the best defenses in the league. But Jaylen Brown wasn’t thrilled about being left off the list.
Prior to the start of last season, Brown made it his mission to earn a spot on an All-Defensive Team. He locked in on that end of the court, doing everything he could to help the Celtics play winning basketball. Unfortunately, he wasn’t rewarded with a nod. And he’s still upset about it.
But fans should be excited.
Jaylen Brown is still mad about not making an All-Defensive Team
After the Celtics’ 139-89 preseason win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night, Brown spoke about his commitment to defense last season.
A reporter asked Brown about his goal to make an All-Defensive Team.
“I said that last season, not this season, and I felt like I should have last season,” Brown said.
And once he began going into detail about what went into his preparation and why he believes he was snubbed, things got serious very quickly.
“I felt like I took every defensive matchup all season long,” Brown said. “I guarded the best player on every team picked up full court, whether it was point guard, centers, whatever. But you know, people don't pay attention that intricately to defense. People only care about offense. So, that's it.”
Brown certainly isn’t the type of guy to let things go. Instead, he’ll use the snub as fuel. At least, that’s what it sounds like based on his reaction to the question.
Last year, Brown was one of the best point-of-attack defenders in basketball. In addition to being a leading scorer for the Celtics, he constantly challenged himself on the opposite end of the floor.
But at the end of the day, scoring gets attention. Buckets get attention. Defense gets pushed to the side.
Heading into this year, this type of energy should get fans excited for what the next version of Brown could look like. He didn’t get what he wanted last year. There’s noting left to do but use that as motivation, and the Celtics need as much of that as possible as they trudge toward a second straight championship.
Every season, Brown comes back having worked to improve himself as a player. Last year, he did that on the defensive end, but he didn’t reap the rewards.
Hearing that he’s still upset about the snub means he’ll be even hungrier this season. And every fan should be eager to see what that looks like.