Apr 4, 2024.
Jaylen Brown photo.
With the postseason drawing near, the Boston Celtics will need a healthy roster. One of those is Jaylen Brown, who has been dealing with an injury lately.
Following the Celtics’ victory against the Thunder on April 3, Brown revealed every detail of his most recent illness.
“I think I got a sprain or a strain in a ligament in my hand, but I think it’s fine,” Brown said, per Noa Dalzell’s X account. “It’s something I’m not concerned with moving forward. It bothered me a little bit tonight, but part of it is working through it, playing through it, because it gives you a little bit more information down the line if things were to get any worse, but I think it’s nothing to be concerned about.”
With their victory over the Thunder, the Celtics guaranteed themselves home court advantage throughout the postseason. Although Brown gave the impression that his ailment is not significant, the Celtics have the financial wherewithal to bench him for the remainder of the regular season if they so choose.
Additionally, Brown doesn’t need to worry about playing a certain number of games to be eligible for awards like All-Defense and All-NBA. Having played 67 games, he satisfied the 65-game requirement to be eligible.
“He wants the responsibility on the defensive end,” Horford told reporters, per Celtics.com’s Taylor Snow’s X account. “A lot of people may say they want those challenges, but he’s facing all types of different players. He’s guarding Stephen Curry, he’s guarding Zion (Williamson), just different guys that he has to match up against. Being very unbiased, very clear, he’s First Team All-Defense… He deserves to be in that position”
During his second season with the Celtics in 2018, Horford himself was selected to the NBA All-Defense Team. Despite never making it, Brown has achieved other honors such as being named to the All-Star squad and the All-NBA team.
Jaylen Brown Sends Cryptic Message
Prior to the Celtics’ game against the Thunder, Brown posted an enigmatic statement on his personal X account: “You might not appreciate it now, but you will in time.”
Brown would not elaborate, although it’s plausible that his comments contributed to the Celtics’ 2023–2024 success. The Celtics hold homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs for the first time since winning the championship in 2008, and they may be the first team to win 60 games.
He has previously sent out enigmatic comments that seemed to be related to the Celtics. In 2022, while the Celtics were having trouble staying afloat, he shared on his X account that “The energy is about to shift.”
After that, the Celtics went from challenging for the play-in spot to securing the second seed in the Eastern Conference and a trip to the NBA Finals. This season, the Celtics have been playing at an unprecedented level. It’s possible that Brown is advising his supporters to enjoy the good times now since they won’t last forever.