Inside The Celtics

Jaylen Brown named All-Star starter for first time in his career

Jaylen Brown is now a five-time All-Star, and now a first-time starter. But it's still unclear who his All-Star teammates will be because of the new U.S. vs. World format.
John Karalis|
Jan 17, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) in action against the Atlanta Hawks in the first quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
Jan 17, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) in action against the Atlanta Hawks in the first quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

In this story:

Boston Celtics

DETROIT -- Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown was named to his fifth All-Star team on Monday, and for the first time in his career, he will be a starter. 

Brown joins Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks, Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks, Cade Cunningham of the Detroit Pistons, and Tyrese Maxey of the Philadelphia 76ers. 

Brown is having the best season of his career, averaging 29.7 points per game, three points better than his career-high. He’s doing it efficiently, boasting a .585 true shooting percentage, which is a tick below his career-high. He’s actually playing fewer minutes than last year, but his usage rate is almost 10% higher than his career average, so he has the ball a lot and he’s doing good things with it. 

“I think we've had a more analytical approach,” Brown said in Atlanta of his success this season. “Maybe the way I play basketball doesn't jump off the charts analytically to some degree … I play off rhythm, I play off feel, I play off what I see. And sometimes that doesn't show up on the analytics. So I think we've changed our approach significantly. I was discouraged a lot of times to take midrange shots. At different points in my career they literally told me not to. So now it's like, ‘Jaylen, you can take whatever shot you want. I was like, sure.’”

According to Synergy Sports, Brown is scoring .942 points per possession on medium-range jumpers, which is from 17 feet to the 3-point line. That's up from .836 last season. He has already scored more from that range this season, which is exactly at the halfway mark, than he did all of last year. Brown is averaging 16.3 2-point shot attempts per game this season, which would be three more than his previous high. 

His 3-point shooting has been more productive as well, going from .957 PPP to 1.055 PPP. Brown has struggled at time from the 3-point line, but this year he’s at 36.7% which is slightly above league average and would be his best percentage in five seasons. 

Brown has admitted that the extra work load without Jayson Tatum has worn on his body, but his intense offseason workouts have not only led to on-court improvements, they’ve allowed him to power through a tough stretch of the season. After struggling a bit earlier in the month, he took advantage of the Atlanta Hawks to put up a 41 point masterpiece.  

“He's always working on his craft and getting better,” Joe Mazzulla recently said. “But I feel like a lot of it is like, he sacrificed a lot with a really good team. You're not going to be able to take as many shots or be as aggressive sometimes, because you’re playing with a lot of star power. You got to make sure (Kristaps Porzingis) gets his touches. Jrue Holiday is out there. Al (Horford). There's a lot of guys, so it's a team effort. So without those guys, he's able to be more aggressive throughout the game.”

The Western Conference starters announced on Monday were Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors, Luka Dončić of the Los Angles Lakers, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Nikola Jokić of the Denver Nuggets, and Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs. 

The All-Star game this season is a round-robin U.S. versus the World format, so it’s unclear which of the American teams Brown will represent. Two teams of U.S. players and one team of international players will compete in a round-robin tournament featuring four 12-minute games.  The three teams will each have a minimum of eight players.

In their announcement, the NBA said “If NBA All-Star voting does not result in the selection of 16 U.S. players and eight international players (which can include American players with ties to other countries if necessary), then NBA Commissioner Adam Silver will select additional All-Stars to join either group to reach that minimum.  In that case, at least one team would have more than eight players.”

Published | Modified
John Karalis
JOHN KARALIS