Jaylen Brown has certainly never been one to hide his pride or competitive spirit. It’s part of what makes him so great and has allowed him to experience so much success. He loves taking on the challenge of guarding the best player on opposing teams; he’s called himself the best two-way player in the league.
Let’s not forget that Brown also single-handedly tried to save the Dunk Contest, being the only star player with the fortitude to participate in recent years. He didn’t win, but it didn’t matter. He lives to compete.
And this year, he’s back at All-Star Weekend, this time voted in as a starter in the Eastern Conference, and once again, he’s putting his natural competitive nature on full display. On Saturday, for All-Star Media Day, Brown was asked if there was anything he wanted to see implemented to improve the weekend, and specifically, if he liked the idea of a one-on-one tournament.
Jaylen Brown calls out Luka, SGA, Brunson, Donovan Mitchell
JB got excited and raved about how much he has enjoyed watching different one-on-one leagues, saying he thinks it would be a great addition. He further went on to say they could do it like boxing and have players call out other players. And of course, Jaylen didn’t stop there, adding:
“There are some people I would love to challenge. Some people that are here this weekend, I would love to challenge. All of them, Luka, Shai, Brunson, Donovan. I would challenge all them guys, one-on-one. We could donate to whatever charity. Let's set it up.”
In terms of his chances? It would be crazy to bet against JB. He has become an incredible shot-maker and can score at all three levels in isolation. His combination of size, strength, athleticism, and skill would be ideal for this type of competition as well, which would improve his odds.
There are definitely players who would create mismatches on one end or another. Someone like Nikola Jokic would be damn near impossible to stop with his size, and someone like Victor Wembanyama could be a shutdown defender. But to be able to do it on both ends against any other type of player, you need a perfect makeup, and Brown is definitely on the short list of players who have the best combination of traits across the board.
Other superstars aren’t competitive enough for 1v1 challenge
The sad reality is that this will probably never happen because, frankly, other NBA stars just aren’t as confident and competitive as Jaylen. JB wants to do this and believes he would win. He’s calling out some of the best players in the league by name and asking for the event to be set up.
Star players are scared to do the Dunk Contest, and they’re scared to try in the All-Star Game. Nobody wants to look bad and get clowned on social media. Society has apparently managed to render some of the most talented and competitive athletes in the world afraid of competing against their peers.
Brown is one of the only players who has continually talked the talk and walked the walk. There’s a reason he became a Finals MVP, there’s a reason he’s trending toward a first-team All-NBA appearance this season, and there’s a reason that the Celtics are in 2nd place in the East at the break.
Jaylen isn’t the only reason the Celtics are where they are, but beyond his play, his leadership, energy, and competitiveness are permeating through his teammates, and it’s no coincidence that success seems to follow him in just about every endeavor.