Celtics' Jaylen Brown can step out of Jayson Tatum's shadow next season

Jaylen Brown has played second fiddle to Jayson Tatum ever since the latter entered the league in the 2017-18 season. Even when Brown won the Eastern Conference Finals MVP and Finals MVP in 2024, he was widely considered Tatum's sidekick, not the lead dog on the Boston Celtics. 

All that changes, albeit for a season, in 2025-26, when Tatum is expected to be sidelined with an Achilles injury. For the first time in his career, Brown will be Boston's go-to man, both as a scorer and a playmaker. The 28-year-old is ready for the added responsibility.

"I know Boston — it looks gloomy right now, obviously with JT being out, and us ending the year, but it's a lot to look forward to," Brown said recently, via CelticsBlog's Noa Dalzell. "...I feel like I'm very talented. I'm one of the talented people in this league, on this planet, I feel like. I'm looking forward to showing the world more."

Brown's desire to show "the world more" should excite Celtics fans. The statement also suggests Brown is hungry to chase individual accolades that may have eluded him previously while sharing the court with Tatum, a perennial All-NBA First Team player.   

Some have compared the Brown-Tatum situation to that of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen in the 1993-94 season, when Pippen became the Bulls' lead dog following Jordan's brief retirement. 

That season, Pippen finished third in the NBA MVP voting and led the Bulls to the second round in the playoffs. The campaign helped solidify Pippen as a superstar player in his own right, a distinction he could never achieve while being in Jordan's shadow.

It could be Brown's turn to do the same.