Celtics' Brad Stevens Expects Jaylen Brown to 'Thrive' as No. 1 Option Next Year

Jun 17, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) celebrates with the Larry O’Brien Trophy after beating the Dallas Mavericks in game five of the 2024 NBA Finals to win the NBA Championship at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-Imagn Images | Peter Casey-Imagn Images

The Boston Celtics are in a peculiar position heading into the 2025-26 season.

After losing superstar Jayson Tatum for the foreseeable future due to a brutal Achilles tear, and an influx of roster movement this offseason, things are going to look undoubtedly different this upcoming season.

One of the constants, however, is Jaylen Brown. President of basketball operations Brad Stevens has big plans for the man who has been labeled as simply the co-star on the Celtics for the past few seasons.

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“There’s no question that Jaylen will draw the most attention and that Jaylen will, I think, thrive in that,” Stevens said. “I think you saw him several times — certainly the few games in the playoffs where we had to play without JT, and I thought he did a good job, especially those two home games.

“I think he’s ready for any challenge, he always has been. I’m excited to see all these guys take a step up. Again, I’m excited to see a chip on their shoulder. I think we’ve always had it, we’ve got a competitive group, with a competitive mindset, but maybe had much higher expectations or some higher expectations. So I’m excited to see us getting ready to go and Jaylen will be a big part of that.”

Brown is coming off a 22.2 points, 4.5 assists, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game season, earning a fourth All-Star honor. He tied his career-high average in assists and tied his career-high in steals per game.

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According to the 28-year-old himself, he seems to agree with Stevens.

Brown told former teammate Kyrie Irving: “People haven’t seen me at my best because we have a loaded roster, so sometimes you need to do what needs to be done as a team."

Brown has certainly been an integral teammate to the dominance that the Celtics have displayed over the past few seasons, but perhaps this new role is a perfect mix of showing the height of his full powers, as well as stepping into the role his team needs most at the moment.

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