Jaylen Brown Would 'Challenge All Them' If The NBA Added One All-Star event

The Boston Celtics star lit up as he was presented with a hypothetical scenario where he could challenge the NBA's best.

Feb 16, 2025; San Francisco, CA, USA; Shaqís OGs guard Jaylen Brown (7) of the Boston Celtics during introductions before the 2025 NBA All Star Game at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images | Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

Jaylen Brown is now a five-time All-Star and starting for the first time this year. He has also participated in the three-point shootout and dunk contest before, so he’s been a big part of the All-Star experience.

It’s an experience that has probably needed a refresh for a little while now. The three-point shootout remains a fun watch, but the shooting stars contest was just okay, and aside from a little Mac McClung magic, the dunk contest has gotten stale. The league ditched the skills challenge, which is probably for the best, and it has tinkered with a H-O-R-S-E contest, but All-Star Saturday remains thin on good ideas.

But there's one that hasn’t been tried in a long time.

“I'm actually a big fan of the one-on-one,” Jaylen Brown said during his Saturday afternoon media availability.

The NBA did try some one-on-one in the early 70s but the idea never stuck and the league ran into bigger problems in that decade. At a time when All-Star Saturday has been under relentless scrutiny for years, a one-on-one tournament of some kind might be worth trying.

“I actually love watching it, because it reminds me of the purity of the game,” Brown said. “Like, it's just mano y mano. You got people on the court talking trash. You've got to play two sides. You got to be an offensive and a defensive player. I think that will be great.”

Brown sounds like a guy who’d be all-in on the idea. His face lit up when the question was posed to him, and it seems like something built for a guy as competitive as he is. Brown is already coming up with ways to make it more than just a set of brackets and trying to eliminate one another.

“You could do it like boxing, like you can call a guy out and challenge some people,” Brown said. “There are some people I would love to challenge. Some people that are here this weekend I would love to challenge. All of them, Luka [Doncic], Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander], [Jalen] Brunson, Donovan [Mitchell]. I would challenge all them guys, one-on-one. We could donate to whatever charity. Let's set it up.”

The NBA has already tweaked the All-Star game format, going to a four-team, tournament-style elimination with target scores instead of timed play. The format shifted to three teams, two with U.S. players and a third representing other countries.

So the league is trying new things. And guys play one-on-one at practice all the time. Maybe they can find a way to incorporate it into the weekend in Phoenix next year or beyond.