Celtics' Jaylen Brown Shades LeBron James in NBA GOAT Debate

The Celtics star doesn't think LeBron James is the greatest player of all time.

Jan 28, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (6) drives to the basket defended by Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown (7) during the second half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images | Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images

The Boston Celtics are an iconic franchise in the lexicon of sports. They have had stars who have been some of the greatest players in the history of the NBA.

Jaylen Brown is hoping to become one of the best players in the history of the league, but he still has a long way to go. He had a great end to the season last year, though.

Brown won both Eastern Conference MVP and NBA Finals MVP. He then signed the richest deal in the history of the NBA, so he has had a good last few months.

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Brown has the goal of being the best basketball player that he can be, but he has an idea of who the greatest basketball player of all time. It isn't LeBron James.

"Nobody surpassed [Michael] Jordan since, not even LeBron [James]. And we [are] in a whole different era. That was over 40 years ago."

— Jaylen Brown 👀

(via @EarnYourLeisure/ Youtube)pic.twitter.com/T8JPBeCQpp

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) March 24, 2025

Brown doesn't think that all of James' accomplishments make him better than Michael Jordan. Jordan is still a lot of people's GOAT, and for good reason.

Jordan never lost in the NBA Finals and still holds a bunch of NBA records. Many think that the only reason why the Rockets won two straight NBA titles is because Jordan retired in the 90s before coming back.

James doesn't have as many titles as Jordan does and probably won't get there. He has four championships right now, two behind Jordan.

He likely will only win one more if he's lucky. James is already 40 years old and likely only has a couple more years of playing in the NBA before retiring.

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Brown Clearly thinks that James isn't on the same level as Jordan despite all of the things that he has done in his career so far. Perhaps that's partly because Brown is still playing against James.

Brown is hoping to get into that discussion at some point based on his own merits. The Celtics have a chance to win back-to-back titles, which would be a good thing to put on his resume.

James is averaging 27 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 7.4 assists in his career. Jordan averaged 30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 5.3 assists in his career.

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