Jaylen Brown’s journey with the Boston Celtics has come full circle-and Isaiah Thomas is watching it unfold with the kind of pride only a former teammate can feel.
Back in the 2016-17 season, Brown was a 20-year-old rookie trying to find his place in the league. The No. 3 overall pick in the draft, he had the athleticism and defensive upside, but his game was still raw. He came off the bench, averaged just 17 minutes per night, and played a supporting role on a Celtics team that belonged to Isaiah Thomas.
That season was Thomas’s peak. He was electric-an All-Star, an MVP candidate, and the heart of a Celtics squad that finished atop the Eastern Conference.
Thomas averaged nearly 29 points per game and carried Boston into the playoffs with fearless shot-making and unmatched grit. At the time, Brown was more student than star, learning from the sidelines while Thomas did the heavy lifting.
Fast forward nearly a decade, and the roles have flipped. Brown is now the one putting the Celtics on his back-and Thomas is watching with admiration.
“I would be lying if I said I thought he would be where he is right now,” Thomas said Friday night at TD Garden, where he was in the building to watch Boston take down the Miami Heat. “So dope to see him now as an All-Star, Finals MVP, NBA champion… I’m like a proud big brother.”
And it’s easy to see why. Brown’s evolution has been steady, not sudden.
It took time for his offensive game to catch up to his physical tools. But once it did, the transformation was undeniable.
He became a two-way force, a player who could defend the opposing team’s best wing and then drop 25 on the other end. In 2024, that growth culminated in a championship run where Brown earned both Eastern Conference Finals MVP and NBA Finals MVP honors-cementing his place among the league’s elite.
Now, with Jayson Tatum sidelined due to an Achilles injury, Brown is showing he can do even more. He’s not just holding the fort-he’s dominating.
On Friday, he dropped 30 points for the sixth straight game, joining a short list of Celtics legends to achieve that feat. That’s rare air in Boston, a franchise where the bar for greatness is sky-high.
At 29, Brown is playing the best basketball of his career. He’s efficient, aggressive, and in full control of his game. And just like Thomas once did, he’s carrying the Celtics through adversity, proving he’s more than just part of a dynamic duo-he’s a franchise cornerstone in his own right.
For Thomas, who once led that same team with heart and hustle, seeing Brown rise to this level is personal. It’s a reminder of how far Brown has come-and how far he can still go.