{"id":171546,"date":"2026-01-05T16:12:44","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T21:12:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=171546"},"modified":"2026-01-05T16:12:44","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T21:12:44","slug":"celtics-star-snubbed-for-eastern-conference-player-of-the-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/01\/05\/celtics-star-snubbed-for-eastern-conference-player-of-the-month\/","title":{"rendered":"Celtics Star Snubbed For Eastern Conference Player Of The Month"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the wake of being snubbed for the Eastern Conference Player of the Month award, Jaylen Brown<\/a> dropped 50! This dominant performance put an end to the Los Angeles Clippers’ 6-game winning streak. Clearly, Brown felt he had something to prove. His performances throughout December prove he deserved to be named Eastern Conference Player of the Month over the New York Knicks’ Jalen Brunson<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Celtics Star Snubbed For Eastern Conference Player Of The Month<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Award Stolen<\/h3>\n

The way Jaylen Brown performed in December earned him two<\/a> Player of the Week awards<\/a>. However, he did not receive the Eastern Conference Player of the Month award. That honor went to Brunson of the New York Knicks. <\/span>When comparing the two guards, anyone with eyeballs could tell that Brown had a better month of basketball than Brunson. The only significant difference in Brunson’s favor is that he played in 13 games while Brown played in only 10 games. Although if their individual numbers are reviewed, then it’ll be obvious which player had the better month.<\/span><\/p>\n

Brown has better scoring numbers, from points to efficiency to three pointers. His 31.7 point average is better than 50% from the field and 42% from three, which are each better than Brunson’s numbers. Not to mention that Brown’s rebounding and defensive numbers are greater as well. Only Brown’s assist numbers (5.4 per contest) were less than Brunson’s (7.1).<\/span><\/p>\n

The thing that stands out from the games played is the win-loss record of their respective team. Boston went 9-3 in December and 7-3 in games Brown was a participant, while New York went 11-4 and, with Brunson, were 10-3. This included a head-to-head matchup between Boston and New York, which opened the month on December 2nd. Both players were participants in that contest, and Brown outplayed Brunson in that duel. In similar minutes played, Brunson had 11 assists to Brown’s 4; however, Brown had the edge in scoring productivity. Brown dropped 42 points with 8 free throws, to Brunson’s measly 15 points, which included 3 free throws. At this point, it should be obvious which player deserved the Eastern Conference Player of the Month award.<\/span><\/p>\n

Still Need Convincing? Brown Drops 50 In Statement Win<\/h3>\n
\"Boston
Jan 3, 2026; Inglewood, California, USA; Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) shoots the ball against LA Clippers center Ivica Zubac (40) in the second half at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As the 2026 calendar begins, the Celtics find themselves amidst a series of games on the road against Western Conference competition. Boston was preparing for a matchup with the Los Angeles Clippers and Kawhi Leonard<\/a>. Leonard was recently breaking the narrative surrounding the Clippers as he led his team to a win streak. The superstar even tied his career high of scoring 55 points during this winning streak. Although impressive as it may be, this made no difference to Brown and the Celtics.<\/p>\n

In their matchup, Brown decided he would take the primary defensive assignment against Leonard. He would also take on the primary offensive load against a Clippers team with momentum coming out of the New Year. Brown held Leonard to 22 points on an abysmal 6-17 shooting night. However, Brown himself would go on to tie his career high by scoring 50 points.<\/p>\n

Browns’ 50-point night has him in elite company. This insane scoring night has him joining Jayson Tatum<\/a> and Larry Bird<\/a> as the only Celtics in franchise history with multiple 50-point scoring performances. Tatum has accomplished this scoring feat on five occasions, while Bird has achieved it on four occasions. Brown should feel great about this accomplishment. He needs to use it as more fuel for the fire that motivates him going forward. If he continues to perform at this elite level, then he’ll surely be in the running for the NBA MVP award and All-NBA first team. Brown could have the team in position to make another deep playoff run, if not another NBA Finals appearance.<\/p>\n

Featured Image: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the wake of being snubbed for the Eastern Conference Player of the Month award, Jaylen Brown dropped 50! This dominant performance put an end to the Los Angeles Clippers’ 6-game winning streak. Clearly, Brown felt he had something to prove. His performances throughout December prove he deserved to be named Eastern Conference Player of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5681,"featured_media":171568,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,5,62],"tags":[1417,450,798,168,455],"class_list":["post-171546","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-celtics","category-nba","tag-jalen-brunson","tag-jaylen-brown","tag-jayson-tatum","tag-kawhi-leonard","tag-larry-bird"],"modified_by":"Benjamin Yu","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171546","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5681"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=171546"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171546\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":171570,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171546\/revisions\/171570"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/171568"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=171546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=171546"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=171546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}