Jaylen Brown gives a theory on why he did not make All-NBA First Team

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Jaylen Brown gives a theory on why he did not make All-NBA First Team

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports
By Darryn Albert | Last updated May 25, 2026 9:19 PM ET

Jaylen Brown is feeling slighted once again.

The Boston Celtics star Brown was officially named this week to the 2025-26 All-NBA Second Team. It was the second such selection of Brown’s professional career after he also made the All-NBA Second Team in 2022-23.

As for the All-NBA First Team, those spots went to Cade Cunningham ( Detroit Pistons), Luka Doncic (Los Angeles Lakers), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City Thunder), Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets), and Victor Wembanyama (San Antonio Spurs). Brown was not happy about missing the cut and let his feelings be known on a Twitch livestream this week.

During the livestream, Brown gave the theory that his snub had something to do with “how I use my platform.” Brown even added that he was “not the most liked player” in the media and among fans.

Jaylen Brown on making second-team All-NBA:

“I’m surprised I win awards at all sometimes… I’m not the most liked player in the media.”

(h/t @BiggLynch) pic.twitter.com/b7Z5d4sxEA
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) May 25, 2026

Of course, there is probably a far less conspiratorial reason behind Brown’s snub — the sheer volume of talent on the All-NBA First Team. Brown did average a monster 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game for the Celtics this season, which were all career highs across the board. But he did not lead his team to the No. 1 seed in the East like Cunningham did, he did not lead the league in points per game like Doncic did, he did not lead his team to the best record in the NBA like Gilgeous-Alexander did, he did not average a triple-double like Jokic did, and he did not have the generational defensive impact that Wembanyama did.

Still, Brown clearly feels that he is being victimized by the public at large. After the Celtics were eliminated from the playoffs earlier this month, Brown even crashed out over the referees supposedly being biased against him.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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