Inside The Celtics

Jaylen Brown Named Eastern Conference Player of the Month


Jaylen Brown has been named Eastern Conference Player of the Month for January. Brown averaged 29.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 4.6 assists 
John Karalis|
Jan 17, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) dribbles against the Atlanta Hawks in the third quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
Jan 17, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) dribbles against the Atlanta Hawks in the third quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

In this story:

Boston Celtics

Jaylen Brown has been named Eastern Conference Player of the Month for January. Brown averaged 29.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 4.6 assists. He led the East in field goals made per game (10.8) and PPG off drives (13.6). It's the first time he's won the award.

Brown is having a career-year, with 26th 30-point games, which is on pace to break Jayson Tatum’s record of 42. He has already passed Sam Jones and Kevin McHale for most in a single season. He has 109 career 30-point games, fifth-most in Celtics history. 

He has a chance to put up his first-career 2,000 point season, and has a chance to pass Dave Cowens on the career scoring list this year.

Brown’s January is actually a step down from December, when he averaged 31.7/6.5/5.4, and was passed over for Player of the Month in favor of Jalen Brunson. He reacted to that by going to his live stream to express his frustration with the process. 

“No disrespect, no diss to any of those guys, Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander] or Brunson, but neither one of them had a better month than I had,” he said. “It’s all good. Those are great players. So, my whole thing is what’s the rubric, what’s the criteria behind [it]?

Brown is the sixth Celtic to win the award. Larry Bird, Jayson Tatum, Paul Pierce, Isaiah Thomas, and Antoine Walker are the others. Luka Doncic was named Western Conference Player of the Month.

Published | Modified
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.

Share on XFollow John_Karalis