Jaylen Brown has long been the kind of player willing to put team success above personal accolades. That mindset helped the Boston Celtics hoist Banner 18 into the TD Garden rafters, and it earned Brown a well-deserved Finals MVP. But now, with the Celtics deep into the 2025-26 season, we’re seeing something even more compelling: Brown stepping fully into his own, not just as a complementary star-but as a legitimate MVP candidate.
And here’s the kicker: he’s doing it without compromising team success. In fact, he’s powering it.
Brown is putting up 29.4 points per game on 49.1% shooting-numbers that speak for themselves. But that’s just the surface.
He’s also grabbing 6.5 rebounds, dishing out 4.9 assists, and adding a steal per game. These aren’t empty stats.
They're the kind of all-around contributions that show a player who’s not just scoring, but doing whatever it takes to win.
The Celtics, for their part, are thriving. At 25-15 through 40 games, they sit second in the Eastern Conference standings. And with Jayson Tatum missing time this season, Brown has taken on a heavier load-and handled it like a true franchise cornerstone.
That hasn’t gone unnoticed around the league. Before the Celtics faced off against the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday night, Hawks head coach Quin Snyder offered a thoughtful breakdown of what makes Brown so hard to guard-and so valuable.
“When you get a player playing at that level, you’ve got to just try to make it hard,” Snyder said. “You’re not going to stop him completely. There are going to be possessions where you play great defense, and he still hits the shot.”
That’s the mark of a true three-level scorer, and Brown is checking every box. Whether it’s catch-and-shoot threes, pull-ups off the dribble, attacking in transition, or creating space in the midrange-he’s got answers for every defensive look. And Snyder made it clear: defending Brown isn’t a one-man job.
“It can’t fall to one player to stop him,” Snyder explained. “He’s shown that’s hard to do.”
According to NBA.com, Brown is averaging the third-most drives per game in the league and ranks in the top four in midrange makes. That’s a rare and difficult balance-being aggressive downhill while also staying efficient from the midrange. It’s a tightrope walk, and Brown is making it look easy.
But what really sets this season apart is how he’s using that attacking mindset to elevate the players around him. Brown isn’t just scoring-he’s drawing defenders, collapsing defenses, and creating clean looks for teammates. That’s helped Boston climb to the second-highest offensive rating in the NBA, a stat that reflects how well the team is clicking with Brown at the helm.
“That’s the reason he’s the player that he is,” Snyder said. “And they’re winning too-that’s the exclamation mark.”
And that’s really the story here. Jaylen Brown isn’t just putting up big numbers-he’s doing it in the context of winning basketball.
He’s taken on more responsibility, answered every challenge, and raised the ceiling for a Celtics team with championship aspirations. This isn’t just a hot streak.
It’s the evolution of a star into a leader, and the league is taking notice.