Jaylen Brown was the Boston Celtics' best player during the team's postseason run to Banner 18 glory, and he can't relent now. Heading into next season, Brown has to parlay his Bill Russell MVP Award into playing as Boston's No. 1 option indefinitely.
Why? His star teammates need a breather.
Jaylen Brown needs to be Celtics No. 1 option to start 2024-25 season
Jayson Tatum, the Celtics' top option in the post-Kyrie Irving era, had a long summer at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 with Team USA. He didn't always get minutes from head coach Steve Kerr, but the media firestorm followed him everywhere. Endless questions about his 2028 LA Games future have been asked in the shadow of Kerr's coaching malpractice.
As for the Celtics' other core pieces, Jrue Holiday and Derrick White were consistent role players in Kerr's Team USA rotation. Both can use some more production from Payton Pritchard in the backcourt, but Brown taking over a dominant No. 1 option role is a safer bet.
Meanwhile, Kristaps Porzingis is slated to miss a large chunk of next year while recovering from offseason surgery.
One year ago, after the Celtics bowed out to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals in seven games, Brown's skill set was relentlessly questioned.
His left hand, or supposed lack thereof, became one of Twitter's most notorious memes. But no one is clowning him this year. Brown has it all now, and he's giving a lot of it back to his community.
As the 2024-25 season approaches, Tatum is absorbing all of the scrutiny. Much of that is from a perceived lackluster playoff run, but most of it is from Kerr's rotation decisions.
Brown, on the other hand, is now respected by default as the Celtics' best player. That creates a good problem for Tatum, who at some point may have to answer those critics.
But for now, Brown is the guy. And he has to be. Especially given the summers Tatum, Porzingis, Holiday, and White had.