Jaylen Brown had a phenomenal regular season. He finished the campaign with 26.6 PPG, 6.9 RPG, and 3.5 APG. His numbers were enough to earn him All-NBA honors as well.
Brown struggled to replicate the same level of performance come playoff time. Despite that, one could argue that he is still among the top 20 players in the NBA, right? Well, NBA analyst Chris ‘Mad Dog’ Russo disagrees with that as he named 20 players better than the Boston Celtics forward in a recent episode of ESPN’s ‘First Take.’
“Right out of the top. Durant. Curry. Embiid. Tatum. Giannis. Booker. Lillard. Jokic. Doncic. Butler. The OKC kid, what’s his name? [Shai Gilgeous-Alexander]. Murray. Donovan Mitchell. Kawhi. George … Morant. LeBron. AD. Anthony Edwards. And one of my all-time favorites, Kyrie.”
While there were some debatable names on the list, it was a pretty decent one overall. Sure, Brown is an excellent player, but he is arguably yet to reach the elite level in the NBA when we include the playoffs.
Whether Russo believes Brown is a top 20 player in the NBA or not, the Celtics forward is eligible to sign a huge five-year $290 million supermax contract this summer. If Boston hands him that contract, they definitely see Brown as someone who can carry the team to an NBA Championship in the future.
Jaylen Brown Wanted To Win Five Rings By The Time He Was 28 Years Old
With the Boston Celtics getting eliminated from the 2023 NBA playoffs in the Eastern Conference Finals, Jaylen Brown’s dream of winning a ring remains unfulfilled.
He is currently 26 years old, so he still has plenty of time to retire from the league as an NBA champion. However, Brown wanted to win five rings by the time he turned 28. Well, that was an unrealistic target, to be honest.
“How many championships does 28-year-old Jaylen have?” Rooks asked Brown. He replied, “I’m not even going to jinx myself, but in six years, I’m going to say five or six. I’m gonna say that… I don’t wanna jinx myself, and I don’t play to lose. So I’m gonna give it five.”
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Over the last few days, NBA fans have trolled Brown for his unrealistic claim in 2018. Had Brown made an achievable target, he would’ve surely saved himself from vicious roasts by fans on the internet.
