May 16, 2025; New York, New York, USA; Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) reacts during the second quarter of game six in the second round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Celtics Star Jaylen Brown's Unexpected Admission on Spurs Legend

Originally posted on San Antonio Spurs on SI
By Logan Struck | Last updated Aug 8, 2025 8:38 PM ET

The Boston Celtics have put together a star-studded team over the past handful of years, building around their star duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown to ultimately win the 2024 NBA championship.

Brown, 28, is a four-time All-Star and the 2024 Eastern Conference Finals MVP and Finals MVP, cementing himself as one of the best players in the league. Last season, Brown averaged 22.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1.2 steals per game with 46.3/32.4/76.4 shooting splits, putting together his worst statistical season since 2019-20, but he was still a difference-maker on both sides of the ball.

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Brown has made incredible strides throughout his nine-year NBA career, going from a defensive-minded wing when the Celtics drafted him third overall in 2016, to one of the premier two-way talents in the league. Still, Brown did not always have it easy.

Jaylen Brown's hardest opponent

In a recent Twitch stream with popular streamer PlaqueBoyMax, Brown revealed the toughest player he has ever had to guard, and the answer is undoubtedly surprising.

"You want me to be honest? Marco Belinelli," Brown said. "Marco Belinelli, he used to light me up, bro. He just used to never stop moving, and I used to have to chase him around. The system we had was to chase Marco Belinelli around all these different screens. He not even getting the ball, and he still like moving back and forth, so you never know when he's about to take off full speed and start running and catch the ball. Yeah, just fatigue, bro."

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Marco Belinelli at a glance

Nobody would have expected Brown to say Marco Belinelli, especially considering all of the NBA superstars he has had to defend throughout his nine-year career. Still, his reasoning behind it makes sense.

Belinelli was the 18th overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft by the Golden State Warriors, where he would play the first two years of his career. After that, Belinelli made stops with the Toronto Raptors, New Orleans Hornets, Chicago Bulls, Sacramento Kings, Charlotte Hornets, Atlanta Hawks, and Philadelphia 76ers. However, no stop was as impactful for the journeyman as his time with the San Antonio Spurs.

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Belinelli had two separate two-year tenures with the Spurs, highlighted by helping take the team to a championship in 2014. Through his four seasons in San Antonio, Belinelli averaged 9.6 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game while shooting 38.9% from three-point range. Belinelli was the ideal player in the Spurs' system, as his off-ball movement made him a threat to any defender, even Jaylen Brown.

This article first appeared on San Antonio Spurs on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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