Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown had an offseason to remember, and it's only gotten better with his latest achievement. On Wednesday morning, it was announced that the three-time All-Star will grace the cover of Time, an honor no Celtic has received since Larry Bird in 1984.
Brown, who's fresh off a championship as the Celtics' reigning NBA Finals MVP, has kept busy this summer. He traveled the world, was active in the community, and put in plenty of work to better his mind and body.
With summer over and the start of the 2024-25 regular season a few weeks away, Brown is ready to get back at it and compete for another championship. He plans to do so alongside star Jayson Tatum, who's acted as his partner in crime since Summer League in 2017.
Although many doubters wondered if Tatum and Brown could win together given their similar styles, they put those questions to rest last season after bringing the Celtics their first title in over 15 years. Brown is confident 2024 won't be the end of their success, per Sean Gregory of Time.
“We have a championship-level relationship,” he said. “History is going to remember us both for what we accomplished this past season. And I think we have a lot more in store for people.”
The Celtics returned their entire starting five from the 2023-24 campaign and brought back most of their bench depth as well. Boston went a stellar 64-18 last season and lost just three playoff games on the way to securing banner no. 18. Retaining the talent that made that kind of dominance possible is a big step in the right direction for the Green Team.
How Celtics' Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have connected on the court
When the Celtics faced off against the Dallas Mavericks in the 2024 NBA Finals, many were ranking the Mavs' star duo of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving over the terrific tandem of Tatum and Brown. In fact, out of 17 basketball experts at ESPN, nine picked Dallas to beat Boston—and nobody chose Brown as their Finals MVP.
Brown proved all the naysayers wrong, averaging an impressive 20.8 points per game while shooting 44% from the floor. He also recorded 5.4 rebounds and five assists per outing while leading the C's with eight total steals over five games.
Tatum showed that those overlooking his partnership with Brown were wrong too. He led the Celtics in points, rebounds, and assists per game while playing a whopping 201 total minutes. His on-court connection with his fellow 2024 All-Star was on full display throughout the playoffs, as he passed to Brown more than every other Celtic besides guard Derrick White.
31 of those 208 passes became assists, with Brown shooting an incredible 49.5% from the field off of Tatum's feeds. Brown returned the favor, having the second-most passes and assists to Tatum through 19 postseason matchups.
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While Brown captured the illustrious Finals MVP award, named after Celtics legend Bill Russell, Tatum was elated to see his long-time teammate enter rarified air.
“Extremely happy for him,” he told reporters following a series-clinching home win. “The main goal for us was to win a championship. We didn’t care who got the Finals MVP … I need him through this journey. And he needs me.”
That feeling was mutual because as soon as Brown was named MVP, he credited Tatum.
“I share this with my brothers and my partner in crime, Jayson Tatum,” he announced while standing next to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. “He was with me the whole way. So we share this sh*t together.”
Tatum and Brown will share the floor once again on Tuesday, October 22nd when their quest for back-to-back championships officially begins at TD Garden versus the New York Knicks.
