In Sunday’s win over the Portland Trail Blazers, Boston Celtics wing Jaylen Brown scored his 10,000th career NBA point. Brown became the 15th player in Celtics history to reach this milestone. During the win, Brown led the team in scoring with 26 points on 10-for-17 shooting and 3-for-5 from beyond the arc. Furthermore, the three-time All-Star recorded four rebounds, two assists, one steal, and one block. After the game, the 27-year-old talked about the milestone:
“It means a lot,” he said. “It’s been a great journey, and we’re still looking forward to what’s next. Hopefully I have another 10,000 in me. …
“I wasn’t paying attention to (the milestone), but I knew I was going to get it this game,” he added. “It’s just an honor to be out here playing with your teammates. So, it’s a great accomplishment.”
Boston Celtics Star Reacts to Reaching Scoring Milestone
Jaylen Brown’s Doing More Than Scoring
Heading into Sunday’s game, Brown was averaging 23.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game. Additionally, he is shooting 50.1% from the field (career-high) and 35.8% from the three-point line. Though he has played a crucial role as one of the team’s most important offensive players, his defense has been equally as important. Earlier this season, Brown opened up about putting “an emphasis” on his defensive game:
“I think I’ve always been a good defender. but we’ve had, over the years, we’ve had some guys that took the majority of the matchups like Smart,” Brown said. “I guess it allowed a little bit of comfort, so this year, I wanted to re-emphasize that I was gonna be the one that was taking on those matchups. Regardless of how I’m feeling, you know, the defense has always been there for the most part this season. …
“I think just this whole season, this has just been an emphasis on my behalf and it wasn’t nothing the coaches said or did or anything like that, I feel like it was on me.”
Furthermore, teammate Al Horford has publicly campaigned for Brown to make it to his first career All-Defensive Team this season:
“Just being very unbiased, it’s very clear he’s first team All Defense,” Horford said. “You look at what he’s doing individually and the impact he has on the defensive end, we’re one of the best defenses, we have the best record, he deserves to be in that position.”
Currently, the Celtics’ 110.4 Defensive Rating is second-best in the NBA, only trailing the Minnesota Timberwolves. Of course, it’s unclear whether Brown will take home the honor at the end of the season. However, he has certainly made a case for it.
The Last Word on Jaylen Brown and the Boston Celtics
In his first season after signing a record-breaking supermax contract in July, Brown has played great for Boston. In large part due to Brown’s contributions on both sides of the ball, the 62-16 Celtics have clinched the best record in the NBA. Additionally, the Celtics (+210) are currently the betting favorites to win the NBA Finals this season. Though they have not won it all since 2008, the Celtics are in a great position to get over the hump this season.
