Jaylen Brown Ranked the Fourth-Most-Important Player in NBA Finals

Former Cal star Jaylen Brown will play a game in the NBA Finals for the first time in his career on Thursday in San Francisco. He has performed well in the postseason so far, but can he continue to be productive against the Warriors on the biggest basketball stage?

Sports Illustrated provided a ranking of the top 10 players in the playoffs so far, and ESPN.com ranked the top 10 most important players in the NBA Finals, and Brown is mentioned in both.

Brown played just one season at Cal, averaging 14.6 points while making 29.4% of his three-point shots as a Golden Bears freshman in 2015-16. But the NBA saw the athleticism in Brown and figured his his shooting would improve as a pro, so he was was the third overall pick in the first round of the 2016 NBA draft.

His shooting has improved significantly and this season he averaged 23.5 points while hitting 47.3% of his field-goal attempts, including 35.8% from three-point range. His shooting has been even better in the playoffs. In 18 postseason game this year, he has shot 48.5% from the floor and 38.6% on three-pointers while averaging 22.9 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists. And he has always been an excellent defender.

That production has led Sports Illustrated's Michael Shapiro to rank Brown as the seventh-best player in this year's postseason, adding this comment:

Brown isn’t a second banana without his warts, and his turnover struggles could rear their ugly head against Golden State. Yet sometimes the conversation surrounding Brown veers too far into what he can’t do rather than what he brings to the table. The Cal product has turned from a defensive specialist to souped-up 3-and-D piece over the last half decade, providing a critical scoring punch alongside Jayson Tatum. Brown has 14 games of 20-plus points in the playoffs. He’s shooting a cool 39.4% from three, and he could very well see an elevated role in the Finals if the Warriors look to trap Tatum. Brown has the ability to be an x-factor late in the series. His performance could be a bellwether for Boston throughout the Finals.f his three-point shot

Brown is ranked ahead of the likes of Klay Thompson and Nikola Jokic.

Here is SI's top 10 in the postseason, which was posted after the conference finals were completed:

1. Jimmy Butler, Heat

2. Stephen Curry, Warriors

3. Jayson Tatum, Celtics

4. Luka Doncic, Mavericks

5. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks

6. Ja Morant, Grizzlies

7. Jaylen Brown, Celtics

8. Nikola Jokic, Nuggets

9. Klay Thompson, Warriors

10. Desmond Bane, Grizzlies

But now we get to the NBA Finals, where legends are made.

ESPN.com's Kevin Pelton ranked the 10 most important players in the NBA Finals between the Warriors and Celtics, and Brown was ranked No. 4, with this commentary:

No player in this series has a wider gulf between his best and worst moments than Brown, whose ability to create his own shot has been a big factor in Boston reaching the Finals. His efficient 23.0 PPG during the playoffs has helped relieve offensive pressure from Tatum, and at times Brown has even been the Celtics' best scorer. At other times, his difficulty with turnovers (3.3 per game during the conference finals, including seven in Game 3) has also loomed large.

The least acclaimed defender among Boston's top six players, Brown will have to carry his weight in this series against Golden State's wing duo of [Klay] Thompson and Andrew Wiggins, both capable scorers in their own right.

Pelton mentioned the wide gulf between Brown's best and worst games, and here's why: In Game 2 against the Heat, Brown had 40 points and hit 70% of his field-goal attempts. In Game 3 he had 12 points on 25% shooting.

However, Brown has been more consistent than Pelton gives him credit for. He has scored 20 points or more in 14 of his 18 playoff games, and has scored in double figures in every game.

Brown's ability to get to the rim has been a major part of Boston's success, although he will need to cut down on his turnovers against the Warriors' steal-and-go defense. Twice he has turned the ball over seven times in a playoff game this season, and his 54 turnovers in the playoffs are too many. However, Jayson Tatum has committed 77 postseason turnovers.

Brown played in two games against the Warriors this season, recording 20 points, nine rebounds and five turnovers in a four-point loss in Boston on Dec. 17, and collecting 26 points, seven rebounds and two turnovers in the Celtics' 22-point win in San Francisco on March 16. (Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green all played in that March 16 game, although Curry injured his foot and played fewer than 14 minutes.)

Here is ESPN.com's ranking of the 10 most important players in the NBA Finals, and it is interesting that Andrew Wiggins is ranked ahead of Brown:

1. Stephen Curry, Warriors

2. Jayson Tatum, Celtics

3. Andrew Wiggins, Warriors

4. Jaylen Brown, Celtics

5. Draymond Green, Warriors

6. Marcus Smart, Celtics

7. Klay Thompson, Warriors

8. Al Horford, Celtics

9. Jordan Poole, Warriors

10. Grant Williams, Celtics

Cover photo of Jaylen Brown and Klay Thompson by Cary Edmonton, USA TODAY Sports

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