Netflix perfectly shuts down ridiculous Jaylen Brown narrative in new doc

Netflix's Starting 5 directly addresses the criticism Jaylen Brown faces for having non-NBA interests.
Boston Celtics v New Orleans Pelicans
Boston Celtics v New Orleans Pelicans | Jonathan Bachman/GettyImages

Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown is one of the best players of his generation, but the focus never seems to be on how good he is at basketball. From the moment he entered the pre-draft process, questions have persisted about how committed he is to the sport and whether or not he has the mind for a career in the NBA.

It's an absurd truth that he's unfortunately been forced to overcome at virtually every turn, even when his success should've stifled the questions long ago.

The narrative surrounding Brown has never truly disappeared despite it first surfacing in a profile and report by Marc J. Spears of Andscape all the way back in 2016. Spears reported that an anonymous NBA executive claimed Brown could be labeled as, "Too smart for the league."

Spears addressed the narrative that hass followed Brown during the fourth episode of the second season of Netflix's Starting 5 docuseries, blatantly acknowledging the absurdity of it.

"If Jaylen walked into a place where everybody's walking through the red door but he thinks the blue door is the way to go, he's going to walk through the blue door. And I think a lot of people don't like that. When he first came into the NBA, I had a story about how people thought he was too smart. He had other interests. Who gets chastised for that?"

It was a powerful and beautiful segment in which Brown's mother, Mechalle Brown, goes on to discuss her ambition to raise good people—not caring if they were athletes or otherwise.

For some reason, that's created a negative reputation for the Finals MVP.

Netflix's Starting 5 acknowledges absurd criticism Jaylen Brown faces for having non-basketball interests

Brown is preparing to enter his 10th NBA season, which is reason enough to applaud his commitment to basketball. It's even more astounding to consider how much he's achieved during his nine completed seasons, both as an individual and as a contributor to a consistently excellent team.

Brown is currently a four-time All-Star with an All-NBA Second Team nod, a Finals MVP award, a championship, two NBA Finals appearances, and five trips to the Conference Finals as a starter.

Brown has taken his game to another level over the past five seasons, averaging 24.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.2 steals, and 2.3 three-point field goals made per game. During that time, he's maintained an impressive level of efficiency at a clip of .483/.354/.751.

Beyond the numbers, Brown is one of the best two-way players in the NBA, providing top-tier contributions as a scorer and defender—and even stepping up as a playmaker in recent years.

That level of consistency, let alone his steady growth as a player, isn't achieved by someone who's simply going through the motions. It's a testament to his work ethic and commitment to basketball that he's not only achieved what he has, but improved in such an obvious manner.

That was never more evident than in 2024-25, when Brown averaged a career-best 4.5 assists per game as Boston's offensive needs evolved.

Thankfully, Starting 5 has tackled the narrative that has at times overshadowed just how significant Brown's success has been. He's well on his way to putting together a Hall of Fame résumé, and at 28 years of age, is in the heart of his athletic prime.

Critics may want to discredit Brown at every turn, but the narrative that having other priorities is a negative continues to be among the most bizarre and unfounded conversations in the NBA.

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