Jaylen Brown

The Celtics will be shorthanded when they face the Knicks on Thursday.

When the Boston Celtics lost three starters from their championship roster and Jayson Tatum ruptured his Achilles tendon, the league largely wrote off the 2025-26 season as a transitional year, but Jaylen Brown had a different interpretation entirely. "From a financial standpoint, this was a rebuild, right?" Brown told ESPN's Ramona Shelburne. "But I didn't look at it like that. I looked at it as an opportunity to show the world who I am and what I could do." Brown has done exactly that as is posting career highs in points, rebounds and assists, carries the second-highest usage rate in the NBA and has guided Boston to the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, a level of success almost no one predicted when the season began. The foundation for what Brown has built this season was laid in isolation last summer. Three weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a torn meniscus, he was alone in his Boston home, turning away calls from friends, teammates and family. He did not want comfort. He wanted space. "One of my toxic traits is that I have a hard time letting people see me weak," Brown said. During that rehab, Brown meditated and studied his teammates' astrological charts and numerology in an effort to customize his approach to each personality in the locker room. Brown also did red light therapy on his knee several times daily. Brad Stevens reminded Brown that the franchise had rebuilt its roster several times since drafting him third overall in 2017, and that Boston still expected to compete despite everything that had changed. "A lot of guys would have misconstrued that and not done what he's done," Stevens told ESPN. "And what he's done is he's played great, and he's empowered others. We needed him to do both for our team to be really good." Stevens told Brown that the key was recognizing what the new pieces around him were capable of. "The only thing that a lot of these guys were, was unproven," Stevens said. "I think Brown knew Jordan Walsh could play. That Baylor Scheierman could play. That Neemias Queta and Luka Garza could play. But he also knew that by showing belief in them, he would get a lot out of them." Brown took that charge seriously. He hosted team dinners. He mentored younger players individually. He advocated publicly for Queta's Most Improved Player and All-Defensive Team candidacy. Walsh, who calls Brown "Unc" because of the mentorship they've built, became one of several teammates to elevate alongside him. Boston's numbers reflect the collaborative nature of Brown's influence. The Celtics post an effective field goal percentage of 65.2% off passes from Brown, fifth highest among players with 500 or more assists this season. Teammates Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser, Derrick White and Queta are all averaging career highs in scoring. "Jaylen has believed in this group from the get-go, and that includes the summer and that includes when we were 0-3," Stevens said. "I think that's helped bring out the best in all of those guys. He has seemed to find a lot of joy in helping them prove themselves." For much of his career, Brown's edge came from perceived slights, trade rumors and a sense that the broader basketball world undervalued him. This season, something has shifted. "At times, I think I would make myself small, for other people to feel comfortable," Brown said. "There's a difference between that and making yourself small and dimming your light." Tatum returned from his Achilles injury in March and has watched up close what Brown built in his absence. He has no doubt about what drove it. "Obviously he's somebody that's always been capable," Tatum told ESPN. "This was just an opportunity where more was required from everybody, but especially him. The NBA is all about opportunity and the guys who really make the most out of it. The special ones do, and that's exactly what he's been able to do this year."

Jaylen Brown tossed in a game-high 26 points and Jayson Tatum added 23 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists to lead the Boston Celtics to a 115-101 victory over the visiting Toronto Raptors on Sunday.

The Most Improved Player award will be announced April 30th.

Jaylen Brown tossed in a game-high 26 points and Jayson Tatum added 23 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists to lead the Boston Celtics to a 115-101 victory over the visiting Toronto Raptors on Sunday.