What is Jaylen Brown's ceiling?

[Feed Your Head]

24 people make the all star teams, and Jaylen was getting serious buzz with several high profile media members having him on their team this year. To me that makes him pretty much already a top 30ish player. To me his upside is a top 15 player, all NBA level guy. As much as I like him I don't see him being an MVP level guy, most of those guys are obvious by the time they are in their 4th year, but second tier star status in the 10-20 best player range at his peak seems possible to me.

A few media members did pick him, but he was 11th and 13th amongst eastern conference guards in the players and media members vote.

That said, I believe they sold him pretty short, as do advanced stats, they hate him for some odd reason that I can’t figure out. I’d have him as a top 40ish player right now personally, but there’s not a huge difference between top 30 and top 45 IMO. But like I said, either way we’re looking at a very good player.

Ya I suppose thats a fair point, the like 25-50 player in the nba are separated by a lot less than people think, enough that having an outlier season can move somebody around significantly within that bubble.

Buts thats also kind of my point, if you dont think there's much difference between 30 and 45, and you think Jaylen is currently in that tier, then its weird to me to say you see his ceiling as a top 30ish player because that means you believe he's already pretty close to his ceiling. But maybe we just define ceiling differently.

Frankly what matters more to me is he's the perfect player for where the NBA is going. While some guys lose value in the playoffs because they can't defend, or arent great shooters, or are one dimensional brown arguably actually gains value because he can guard almost anybody, can shoot, but can also do stuff off the dribble. Really the passing will determine whether he takes it to the next level. Him and Tatum are a perfect paring, because you can build the team around them in an almost infinite number of ways.

I love Jaylen, even more as a person than as a basketball player. I just wonder about his basketball iq limiting what he can become. But as I’ve said all season, I won’t rule out anything with him, since his work ethic is legendary.

[Floody100]

Is he now out second best player ?
He’s shown more theses playoffs than Kemba.

[Theocy]

When he puts his mind to it he plays like kawhai


If he manages to improve his shooting a bit and continue growing stronger he will be a celtics for a long time. Maybe Murray is flashier and maybe a better offensive player but brown feels like a better defender. Top 20 player by the end of his current contract. And that probably puts us in a great position to get another all star to put up next to Tatum and brown in 3 years time.


Watching butler go against us this series I think jaylen can surpass him

[FlatearthZorro]

When he puts his mind to it he plays like kawhai


If he manages to improve his shooting a bit and continue growing stronger he will be a celtics for a long time. Maybe Murray is flashier and maybe a better offensive player but brown feels like a better defender. Top 20 player by the end of his current contract. And that probably puts us in a great position to get another all star to put up next to Tatum and brown in 3 years time.


Watching butler go against us this series I think jaylen can surpass him

He's shooting the 3 pointer at around .400. He's shooting over .500 from the field in this series. I dunno how much better you expect him to shoot. Maybe he needs to shoot more.

[Ill News]

Since his stinker in Game 4 of the Toronto series (when he shot 2-11 from three), Jaylen's been averaging the following numbers (8 games):

24 ppg, 8.1 rebs, 2.1 asts, 2.0 stls, 0.3 blks, 51% FG, 40% 3FG, 75% FT

He's eclipsed Kemba as our 2nd best player, with what he brings on defense as the deciding factor. He's often been asked to guard the team's best player or their hot guy: Siakam in the Raps series, and now he's guarded Butler and chased around Dragic and Herro at times, and this game there were instances when he was put on Bam. He's becoming a second Smart out there, only he might prove more valuable in the future because you can literally put him on anyone and not be disadvantaged when it comes to size or height.

I really hope he doesn't regress next season, but with how consistent he's been all year, I doubt he will. He's certainly a devastating two-way force now: one who can attack the rim and hit threes, all while having the strength and footwork to defend bigs and the speed to stay with guards. So yeah, he's our 2nd best player now.

[CSL_1904]

His ceiling is superstar. And I don't care what anyone else thinks.

Will he get there? I don't know. He obviously needs to polish some stuff in his game. But he's an incredible hard worker, has great mentality and has improved at an oustanding pace. Love JB.

[zoyathedestroya]

I can understand why there's a bipolarity in opinion when it comes to Jaylen. When he plays like this on offense coupled with his high-level individual defense...

Watch on YouTube

... he's definitely an All-Star and maybe a borderline All-NBA player. But there are just games when he doesn't have the same mindset/energy for whatever reason. Then he becomes pedestrian like Ross or Wiggins or some **** empty calories player.

In the first half when we didn't have anything much going, he was attacking from the top of the key (I admit part of this is coaching staff giving him more opportunities). In previous seasons, you couldn't even trust him taking more than two dribbles into the paint like that. Now his improved handles, quickness, body control, and strength allow him to finish over Bam (he's actually better than Tatum at this). In the second half, he was running in transition and moving non-stop in the half court. Had two plays where he was trailing in the backcourt and ended up with the easy layup on the other end! When he didn't have the ball, he was getting to his spots and had all the confidence in the world in taking those corner threes. When he caught the ball, he was determined to get to the rim no matter what.

Big question for him is can he harness this energy/mentality and play like this most of the time and against tougher competition? When his shot is off or not scoring much, can he impact winning in other ways and not just float in the game?

[100proof]

I can understand why there's a bipolarity in opinion when it comes to Jaylen. When he plays like this on offense coupled with his high-level individual defense...

Watch on YouTube

... he's definitely an All-Star and maybe a borderline All-NBA player. But there are just games when he doesn't have the same mindset/energy for whatever reason. Then he becomes pedestrian like Ross or Wiggins or some **** empty calories player.

In the first half when we didn't have anything much going, he was attacking from the top of the key (I admit part of this is coaching staff giving him more opportunities). In previous seasons, you couldn't even trust him taking more than two dribbles into the paint like that. Now his improved handles, quickness, body control, and strength allow him to finish over Bam (he's actually better than Tatum at this). In the second half, he was running in transition and moving non-stop in the half court. Had two plays where he was trailing in the backcourt and ended up with the easy layup on the other end! When he didn't have the ball, he was getting to his spots and had all the confidence in the world in taking those corner threes. When he caught the ball, he was determined to get to the rim no matter what.

Big question for him is can he harness this energy/mentality and play like this most of the time and against tougher competition? When his shot is off or not scoring much, can he impact winning in other ways and not just float in the game?

Love Jaylen. He and Jayson are a perfect pairing.

[50yrceltsfan]

His ceiling is superstar. And I don't care what anyone else thinks.

Will he get there? I don't know. He obviously needs to polish some stuff in his game. But he's an incredible hard worker, has great mentality and has improved at an oustanding pace. Love JB.

His game is similar to, and on a path to reach, Kawai Leonard's, who is 29 and reached superstar status around 26. His trajectory and pace of improvement is at a high angle as we've seen the past 2 seasons.

He's not better than Tatum, but to be honest he's just as good overall. He's a year older, physically stronger. He has terrific control and pace when finishing, his layups in traffic almost always go in, never clang off the board. He's got a quick and deadly 3, especially when hot. And he creates his own mid-range jumper and hits it more often than not. I have more confidence we're gonna score points when the ball's in his hands than in Tatum's. And I love Tatum too.

Not to mention his D which is generally excellent, and his ability to cover any type of player. And a leader of men. Total stud.

Meant to also add that his offense is pretty consistent throughout the game, not what I'd call a streaky player. His mid range and drives are reliable.

[nic4747]

Not really sure what his ceiling is as I struggle to compare him to anyone. He’s greatest strength by far is his energy, which manifests itself in his defense which is highly effective at forcing turnovers. His second greatest strength is his athleticism and ability to drive to the hoop. And his jumpshot is pretty good too. His weakness is passing and playmaking, but given how smart he is I think he can improve in that area significantly.

[bucknersrevenge]

I can understand why there's a bipolarity in opinion when it comes to Jaylen. When he plays like this on offense coupled with his high-level individual defense...

Watch on YouTube

... he's definitely an All-Star and maybe a borderline All-NBA player. But there are just games when he doesn't have the same mindset/energy for whatever reason. Then he becomes pedestrian like Ross or Wiggins or some **** empty calories player.

In the first half when we didn't have anything much going, he was attacking from the top of the key (I admit part of this is coaching staff giving him more opportunities). In previous seasons, you couldn't even trust him taking more than two dribbles into the paint like that. Now his improved handles, quickness, body control, and strength allow him to finish over Bam (he's actually better than Tatum at this). In the second half, he was running in transition and moving non-stop in the half court. Had two plays where he was trailing in the backcourt and ended up with the easy layup on the other end! When he didn't have the ball, he was getting to his spots and had all the confidence in the world in taking those corner threes. When he caught the ball, he was determined to get to the rim no matter what.

Big question for him is can he harness this energy/mentality and play like this most of the time and against tougher competition? When his shot is off or not scoring much, can he impact winning in other ways and not just float in the game?

It's called youth, a lack of inexperience, and maturity.The hallmark of inconsistency in this game is youth and inexperience. He's 23 years old. Someone earlier in this thread said something to the effect of "I'd hate to be the NBA two years from now" With maturity comes wisdom. JB doesn't think the game so much and he may never on the level that stars do in this league. But you never know. He works as hard as anyone.

[Feed Your Head]

His ceiling is superstar. And I don't care what anyone else thinks.

Will he get there? I don't know. He obviously needs to polish some stuff in his game. But he's an incredible hard worker, has great mentality and has improved at an oustanding pace. Love JB.

His game is similar to, and on a path to reach, Kawai Leonard's, who is 29 and reached superstar status around 26. His trajectory and pace of improvement is at a high angle as we've seen the past 2 seasons.

He's not better than Tatum, but to be honest he's just as good overall. He's a year older, physically stronger. He has terrific control and pace when finishing, his layups in traffic almost always go in, never clang off the board. He's got a quick and deadly 3, especially when hot. And he creates his own mid-range jumper and hits it more often than not. I have more confidence we're gonna score points when the ball's in his hands than in Tatum's. And I love Tatum too.

Not to mention his D which is generally excellent, and his ability to cover any type of player. And a leader of men. Total stud.

Meant to also add that his offense is pretty consistent throughout the game, not what I'd call a streaky player. His mid range and drives are reliable.

26? At 24 Kawhi averaged 21/7/3/2/1, won defensive player of the year. Was 3rd in the league in RPM, 7th in PIPM, had a PER of 26, had a WS/48 of 2.77, and was second in the MVP voting.

I think people forget how dominant he was by that point. Comparing Jaylen to Kawhi is unfair to Jaylen, IMO. That’s just unreal expectations, Kawhi has been a great ISO scorer since he’s gotten a bigger role offensively, whereas that’s just not Jaylens game. This year Jaylen is assisted on 60% of his shots, in the playoffs it’s been 70%. Kawhi at 23 was assisted on 53% of his shots in the playoffs and regular season.

I kind of like the Klay comparison that gets thrown around a bit. He’s not the shooter Klay is, but he’s better at getting to the hoop and going to the line.

[nic4747]

His ceiling is superstar. And I don't care what anyone else thinks.

Will he get there? I don't know. He obviously needs to polish some stuff in his game. But he's an incredible hard worker, has great mentality and has improved at an oustanding pace. Love JB.

His game is similar to, and on a path to reach, Kawai Leonard's, who is 29 and reached superstar status around 26. His trajectory and pace of improvement is at a high angle as we've seen the past 2 seasons.

He's not better than Tatum, but to be honest he's just as good overall. He's a year older, physically stronger. He has terrific control and pace when finishing, his layups in traffic almost always go in, never clang off the board. He's got a quick and deadly 3, especially when hot. And he creates his own mid-range jumper and hits it more often than not. I have more confidence we're gonna score points when the ball's in his hands than in Tatum's. And I love Tatum too.

Not to mention his D which is generally excellent, and his ability to cover any type of player. And a leader of men. Total stud.

Meant to also add that his offense is pretty consistent throughout the game, not what I'd call a streaky player. His mid range and drives are reliable.

26? At 24 Kawhi averaged 21/7/3/2/1, won defensive player of the year. Was 3rd in the league in RPM, 7th in PIPM, had a PER of 26, had a WS/48 of 2.77, and was second in the MVP voting.

I think people forget how dominant he was by that point. Comparing Jaylen to Kawhi is unfair to Jaylen, IMO. That’s just unreal expectations, Kawhi has been a great ISO scorer since he’s gotten a bigger role offensively, whereas that’s just not Jaylens game. This year Jaylen is assisted on 60% of his shots, in the playoffs it’s been 70%. Kawhi at 23 was assisted on 53% of his shots in the playoffs and regular season.

I like the Klay comparison that gets thrown around a bit. He’s not the shooter Klay is, but he’s better at getting to the hoop and going to the line.

I really struggle to compare him to anyone. To me he’s a defense first player, like Avery Bradley, Tony Allen, or Smart. But his offensive skill and ceiling is so much higher than these guys. Maybe Jimmy Butler but with better shooting?

[Feed Your Head]

His game is similar to, and on a path to reach, Kawai Leonard's, who is 29 and reached superstar status around 26. His trajectory and pace of improvement is at a high angle as we've seen the past 2 seasons.

He's not better than Tatum, but to be honest he's just as good overall. He's a year older, physically stronger. He has terrific control and pace when finishing, his layups in traffic almost always go in, never clang off the board. He's got a quick and deadly 3, especially when hot. And he creates his own mid-range jumper and hits it more often than not. I have more confidence we're gonna score points when the ball's in his hands than in Tatum's. And I love Tatum too.

Not to mention his D which is generally excellent, and his ability to cover any type of player. And a leader of men. Total stud.

Meant to also add that his offense is pretty consistent throughout the game, not what I'd call a streaky player. His mid range and drives are reliable.

26? At 24 Kawhi averaged 21/7/3/2/1, won defensive player of the year. Was 3rd in the league in RPM, 7th in PIPM, had a PER of 26, had a WS/48 of 2.77, and was second in the MVP voting.

I think people forget how dominant he was by that point. Comparing Jaylen to Kawhi is unfair to Jaylen, IMO. That’s just unreal expectations, Kawhi has been a great ISO scorer since he’s gotten a bigger role offensively, whereas that’s just not Jaylens game. This year Jaylen is assisted on 60% of his shots, in the playoffs it’s been 70%. Kawhi at 23 was assisted on 53% of his shots in the playoffs and regular season.

I like the Klay comparison that gets thrown around a bit. He’s not the shooter Klay is, but he’s better at getting to the hoop and going to the line.

I really struggle to compare him to anyone. To me he’s a defense first player, like Avery Bradley, Tony Allen, or Smart. But his offensive skill and ceiling is so much higher than these guys. Maybe Jimmy Butler but with better shooting?

I always disagreed with the Butler comparison because Butler is a really good playmaker, his career assist rate is 18% and has a career a 21% 3PAr, while Jaylen has an 8% career assist rate and a 38% 3PAr. But it’s not any further off than the Kawhi or Klay comparisons.

You’re right, Jaylen is super hard to find a comparison for lol.

[50yrceltsfan]

His ceiling is superstar. And I don't care what anyone else thinks.

Will he get there? I don't know. He obviously needs to polish some stuff in his game. But he's an incredible hard worker, has great mentality and has improved at an oustanding pace. Love JB.

His game is similar to, and on a path to reach, Kawai Leonard's, who is 29 and reached superstar status around 26. His trajectory and pace of improvement is at a high angle as we've seen the past 2 seasons.

He's not better than Tatum, but to be honest he's just as good overall. He's a year older, physically stronger. He has terrific control and pace when finishing, his layups in traffic almost always go in, never clang off the board. He's got a quick and deadly 3, especially when hot. And he creates his own mid-range jumper and hits it more often than not. I have more confidence we're gonna score points when the ball's in his hands than in Tatum's. And I love Tatum too.

Not to mention his D which is generally excellent, and his ability to cover any type of player. And a leader of men. Total stud.

Meant to also add that his offense is pretty consistent throughout the game, not what I'd call a streaky player. His mid range and drives are reliable.

26? At 24 Kawhi averaged 21/7/3/2/1, won defensive player of the year. Was 3rd in the league in RPM, 7th in PIPM, had a PER of 26, had a WS/48 of 2.77, and was second in the MVP voting.

I think people forget how dominant he was by that point. Comparing Jaylen to Kawhi is unfair to Jaylen, IMO. That’s just unreal expectations, Kawhi has been a great ISO scorer since he’s gotten a bigger role offensively, whereas that’s just not Jaylens game. This year Jaylen is assisted on 60% of his shots, in the playoffs it’s been 70%. Kawhi at 23 was assisted on 53% of his shots in the playoffs and regular season.

I kind of like the Klay comparison that gets thrown around a bit. He’s not the shooter Klay is, but he’s better at getting to the hoop and going to the line.

I did forget that, thought he was more like 25 or 26. But at any rate, Jaylen's game is a similar style to Leonard's. In 2 years when he's 25, he could be ridiculous cause he's already doing most things very well and has shown real growth every year. He and Tatum will push each other to be great players.

[rd26]

I've got a pretty unorthodox comp. I am looking at role and impact, I am NOT trying to say JB is as good as a hall of famer.

What about James Worthy? He was never the best or even second best player on those Lakers teams, but he was usually the difference maker.

Any given night, he could show up and be the best player on the court, didnt matter who else was out there. Normally, the bigger the moment, the bigger his game, and when he was rolling, they were practically untouchable.

Lastly, JB seems to generate the same level of hate from some Cs fans that Worthy did.

[zoyathedestroya]

Oddly enough, James Worthy was the only Lakers player I could stand growing up. Seemed like a really likable fella. I LOVED Magic Johnson's game but I hated what he was doing to the Celtics lol.

[Fencer reregistered]

I've got a pretty unorthodox comp. I am looking at role and impact, I am NOT trying to say JB is as good as a hall of famer.

What about James Worthy? He was never the best or even second best player on those Lakers teams, but he was usually the difference maker.

Any given night, he could show up and be the best player on the court, didnt matter who else was out there. Normally, the bigger the moment, the bigger his game, and when he was rolling, they were practically untouchable.

Lastly, JB seems to generate the same level of hate from some Cs fans that Worthy did.

The top reason I've been pushing a Worthy comparison is that Jaylen has become elite at finishing the break.

Different eras, of course -- Worthy is hardly remembered as a post player now, but had skills that would now make him the top post player in the league. Nobody these days thinks of Jaylen as a special 3-pt shooter, but his current skills would have made him elite back then. Each might have learned the other skill set had it been more in vogue in their time.

[BostonCouchGM]

If Jaylen played in any other system that doesn't result in him getting absolutely wide open threes. He'd be pretty useless. If there's anyone near him he's usually missing. He can't create for himself or others consistently because his handle is so suspect and he doesn't process information quickly enough. I'm not sure how this equates to me hating him. I just hate his game or lack thereof. He is a good finisher. But most of the finishes people on here do black flips over aren't high degree of difficulty. They're usually uncontested tbh. People are laughably excited about his 28 pt performance when it took 23 shots to get there, he played awful defense, and turned the ball over. When Hayward leaves and he becomes our 2nd best player we aren't going to be contending. As long as he's our 3rd best then we're golden. If he's our 4th we're screwed because he makes way too much money going forward to be a team's 4th best player. Stars in this league are guys who can initiate the offense. Guys who demand teammates to clear out because they're about to go to work. Guys teams have to double, not leave wide open like they do with Jaylen. Until he improves his handle dramatically he'll remain a great role player, not a star like so many on here believe.

When people on here stop being overwhelmingly hyperbolic about Jaylen Brown, I'll stop "hating"

[London2Boston]

If Jaylen played in any other system that doesn't result in him getting absolutely wide open threes. He'd be pretty useless. If there's anyone near him he's usually missing. He can't create for himself or others consistently because his handle is so suspect and he doesn't process information quickly enough. I'm not sure how this equates to me hating him. I just hate his game or lack thereof. He is a good finisher. But most of the finishes people on here do black flips over aren't high degree of difficulty. They're usually uncontested tbh. People are laughably excited about his 28 pt performance when it took 23 shots to get there, he played awful defense, and turned the ball over. When Hayward leaves and he becomes our 2nd best player we aren't going to be contending. As long as he's our 3rd best then we're golden. If he's our 4th we're screwed because he makes way too much money going forward to be a team's 4th best player. Stars in this league are guys who can initiate the offense. Guys who demand teammates to clear out because they're about to go to work. Guys teams have to double, not leave wide open like they do with Jaylen. Until he improves his handle dramatically he'll remain a great role player, not a star like so many on here believe.

When people on here stop being overwhelmingly hyperbolic about Jaylen Brown, I'll stop "hating"

We’ve reached the ECF twice the last three years with zero play from Hayward. Don’t let’s that stop you though..