Inside The Celtics

Jaylen Brown Hopes His Boston Celtics Legacy Is Remembered Two Ways

On a night where the NBA and the Celtics honored legends and pioneers of the game, Brown reflected on his own legacy, and he wants to be remembered as more than a basketball player.
John Karalis|
Feb 1, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) is introduced to the crowd before a game against the Milwaukee Bucks at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images
Feb 1, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) is introduced to the crowd before a game against the Milwaukee Bucks at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images | Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images

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The NBA honored the 75th anniversary of the league’s desegregation with it’s inaugural “NBA Pioneers Classic” in Boston Sunday afternoon. The game honored Chuck Cooper, the first Black player drafted in the NBA, Nathaniel “Sweetwater” Clifton, the first to sign an NBA contract, and Earl Lloyd, the first to play in a game. 

The Celtics used the occasion to honor their own history, with children and grand children of Bill Russell, KC Jones, Sam Jones, Jim Loscutoff, and Red Auerbach in attendance. Celtics legend Satch Sanders was also at the game. 

"I think it was awesome,” Jaylen Brown said. “I think it was pretty cool to pay homage to people of the past. I'm a person that also loves to pay my respects. To know where you're going, you gotta know where you came from. I thought the NBA did a good job of honoring some of those guys from the past."

Celtics history is so long and storied, filled with so many greats, that incredible players are often overlooked because of the giants who wore Celtics green. Bob Cousy, Bill Russell, John Havlicek, Larry Bird, and Paul Pierce would be a pretty legendary team of NBA greats, but because they all played for the same franchise, players like KC Jones, Sam Jones, and others are sometimes overlooked. But on nights like this, the rich history of the franchise is on full display. 

“We're fortunate working for the Celtics, we just have history around us all the time in so many different ways,” Joe Mazzulla said. “It's always cool to have moments like that, because it shows this job wouldn't be what it was, and this team wouldn't be what it was if the people before you didn't leave it better than they found it. And so you have a responsibility to do the same. So it's a special day for a lot of reasons, and I think it just puts things in perspective about what it means to be a Celtic and what it means when you have a platform to take advantage of that.”

Brown did his part to honor the past by putting up a 30-point, 13-rebound gem to dispatch the Milwaukee Bucks. It’s his 26th 30-point game, and he’s on pace to break Jayson Tatum’s record of 42. Even if he doesn’t, he already has more than Jones or Kevin McHale have had in a single season. He has a chance to put up his first-career 2,000 point season and maybe vault all the way past Dave Cowens on the career scoring list. 

It’s hard to tell the future, but a 20,000 point career isn’t out of the question for Brown. Neither is passing Larry Bird in career points. 

This is legendary stuff. For a guy who feels overlooked, there's a strong chance Brown will go down as one of the best to ever wear a Celtics uniform. Someday, maybe when he’s 87 like Satch Sanders, sitting courtside resting his hands on his cane, he’ll wave to the crowd as he’s honored the same way when he’s honored like this. 

“I think, as you continue to progress throughout the journey, legacy is something that you think about,” Brown said. “Legacy is something that stands out. And the best legacy that you can leave is winning.” 

Brown has already won at the highest level, but he’s not satisfied with just one ring. And he’s also not satisfied with being known solely as a basketball player. Brown believes in leaving the world a better place, which is why he’s a fixture in the community, trying to uplift people who are in similar circumstances as he was. When it comes to being remembered, Brown wants it to be for both. 

“Two things that I take pride in, being able to win basketball games, win a championship, hopefully more, and being able to affect my community in a positive way,” he said. “That's what you invest in. That's what I invest in as a player, that's what I invest in as a Boston Celtic and as a member of my family.”

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John Karalis
JOHN KARALIS

John Karalis is a 20-year veteran of Celtics coverage and was nominated for NSMA's Massachusetts Sportswriter of the Year in 2019. He has hosted the Locked On Celtics podcast since 2016 and has written two books about the Celtics. John was born and raised in Pawtucket, RI. He graduated from Shea High School in Pawtucket, where he played football, soccer, baseball, and basketball and was captain of the baseball and basketball teams. John graduated from Emerson College in Boston with a Bachelor of Science degree in Broadcast Journalism and was a member of their Gold Key Honor Society. He was a four-year starter and two-year captain of the Men’s Basketball team, and remains one of the school's top all-time scorers, and Emerson's all-time leading rebounder. He is also the first Emerson College player to play professional basketball (Greece). John started his career in television, producing and creating shows since 1997. He spent nine years at WBZ, launching two different news and lifestyle shows before ascending to Executive Producer and Managing Editor. He then went to New York, where he was a producer and reporter until 2018. John is one of Boston’s original Celtics bloggers, creating RedsArmy.com in 2006. In 2018, John joined the Celtics beat full-time for MassLive.com and then went to Boston Sports Journal in 2021, where he covered the Celtics for five years. He has hosted the Locked On Celtics podcast since 2016, and it currently ranks as the #1 Boston Celtics podcast on iTunes and Spotify rankings. He is also one of the co-hosts of the Locked on NBA podcast.

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