Jaylen Brown Warns NBA to Not 'Sleep' on Celtics

The Boston Celtics player is warning the rest of the league to beware of the Celtics.

Mar 2, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown (7) drives to the basket during the second half against the Denver Nuggets at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images | Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images

The Boston Celtics are the defending NBA champions, and are viewed as the favorite to do so again.

Boston leads the likes of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Oklahoma City Thunder as favroites for the Larry O'Brien Trophy. However, Boston sits as the second seed in the East, with Cleveland having a whopping 7.5-game lead on them for the top seed in the East.

The Celtics still haven't been able to get fully healthy for a sustained stretch of the season.

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Although Boston is the favorite, Celtics star Jaylen Brown is playing the underdog card. He thinks that the rest of the league is sleeping on the Celtics and that they should be careful doing that.

"Every win builds momentum... don't sleep on us"

JB after the @celtics big win over the Nuggets yesterday 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/A8aLeJN1N1

— NBA (@NBA) March 3, 2025

"Every win builds momentum. Denver's a good team, they've been playing well, but we did just enough to get over the hump. We gotta pick it up. We got some guys out right now so we filling in, but don't sleep on us."

Brown has a lot of confidence in this team's ability to compete late in the season. The Celtics think that once they get fully healthy, they are as good as anyone.

When the Celtics are able to have Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday fully healthy and ready to play, they are as dangerous as anyone. Had they played against the Cavs last week, they likely wouldn't have blown that 22-point lead.

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Boston has still won seven of their last nine games. They feel like they still haven't played their best basketball with the injuries they've had to deal with, either.

Of course, injuries are going to keep following this team around because Porzingis is an injury-prone player. Holiday is too, although all of his injuries are relatively minor.

While the Celtics might not be able to stay completely healthy for a sustained stretch, they just need to be healthy for two months. That is their only goal at this point.

Brown understands that and that's why he thinks the rest of the league should be wary of sleeping on them.

More Boston Celtics:

Jaylen Brown Clears the Air About Celtics Getting Home-Court in Postseason

Celtics' Jrue Holiday Offers Concerning Update on Brutal Finger Injury

For more news and notes on the Boston Celtics, visit Boston Celtics on SI.