Does anyone remember how Michael Jordan defended? In basketball, attacking play has always taken center stage. The Chicago Bulls star, who has the most complete collection of MVP awards, earned those recognitions with his three-pointers, his mid-range shots, his layups and his dunks. If anything, with some assists. This year, in the Boston Celtics’ final against the Dallas Mavericks, Jaylen Brown won the award for best player in both hoops. His scoring aspect has been as important as his defensive sacrifice.
Brown, 27, won the jury vote 7 to 4 over Jayson Tatum, the other great star of the Celtics. Tatum played his best game of the finals this Monday, with 31 points, 11 assists and 8 rebounds. He has been the leader of the team in all three facets. Brown has had 20.8 points, 5.4 assists and 5 rebounds during the five Finals games, while Tatum has averaged 22.2, 7.8 and 7.2. However, Brown has assumed the role of stopping Luka Dončić and has contributed decisively to the Dallas Mavericks staying below 100 points in the four games that have given the Celtics the title and him the prize that It is named after a Celtics legend: Bill Russell.
“To be honest, I can’t even put it into words. Bill Russell and what he’s meant to me through my journey through Boston, the spirit of him and everything he stood for, for this to be the Bill Russell MVP award, just… I don’t even know what to say. It’s unreal,” he said after the recognition.
“It could have been for Jayson. I can’t speak enough about his selflessness, nor about his attitude. It’s the way he approached not only this series or the finals, but the playoffs in general. And we did it together, as a team, and that was the most important thing.” There were doubts about Brown since he was drafted by the Celtics in 2016. He assumed it with humility. “I came in and kept my head down and told myself, I’m going to keep working. And, you know, being here in this moment now, after all the years, after all the doubts, despite all the ups and downs, the verdicts, just makes the story that much sweeter.”
The 1.98 meter tall player was chosen number three in the draft of 2016, behind Ben Simmons and Brandon Ingram, but has emerged as the best in his promotion. He is a special player. For years he carried the stigma of being “too smart” to play basketball. He plays chess, plays the piano, has given talks at Harvard and MIT, the two most prominent universities in the Boston area, and at Berkeley, where he studied. He learned Spanish and was interested in studying other languages.
The year after joining the team, the Celtics chose, also at number three in the draft, to Jayson Tatum (who, like Brown, has turned out to be the best of his year, far above Markelle Fultz and Lonzo Ball, chosen ahead of him). In two years, the team acquired two rookies who would define its future. The duo coincided for two seasons with Kyrie Irving, who due to his injuries, his lack of commitment and his departure through the back door ended up being hated in Boston.
Instead, the Tatum-Brown duo overcame adversity and grew through disappointments. The 2022 final against the Warriors was tough, but last year’s loss in the Eastern Conference final when everything pointed to a historic comeback against the Miami Heat was almost worse. After her, one of Brown’s obsessions was to become one of the best defensive players in the NBA. He hasn’t reached that point, but the defensive side has paved his way to MVP.
This Monday, he remembered his colleague as soon as he received the award: “I share this with my brothers and my partner in crime, Jayson Tatum. He was with me the whole way, so we shared this together,” he said before they both gave each other a hug.
In Brown’s six seasons, the Celtics have reached six Conference Finals and two NBA Finals, but the long-awaited ring did not arrive until this Monday. The next challenge is to achieve two consecutive titles, something Boston has not achieved since 1969.
Brown signed a record $304 million, five-year contract with Boston last year. Curiously, despite being an established star – now more so – he is perhaps the only player of his level who does not have a contract with a sports shoe brand since his contract with Adidas expired in 2021. In the All-Star last February He wore the shoes designed for Kyrie Irving, who ended up being his rival in the finals.
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