Jaylen Brown Recalls LeBron James All-Star Prediction After Celtics-Lakers

The Boston Celtics are one of the NBA's best teams despite missing star forward Jayson Tatum (Achilles) the whole season, and fellow star forward Jaylen Brown is one of the biggest reasons. The 29-year-old is fourth in the NBA with 29.2 points per game on 48.1% shooting (34.4% 3-point) with seven rebounds, 4.9 assists and one steal over 34.3 minutes.

Brown is 11.6 points per game ahead of guard Payton Pritchard, Boston's second-leading scorer. Brown, a 6-foot-6, 223-pounder, is averaging a career-high, as his previous best scoring mark was 26.6 points per game in 2022-23.

Brown turned in another productive performance in the Celtics' 111-89 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday, scoring a game-high 32 points (10-of-28 field-goal shooting, 3-of-9 3-point) with eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals over 36 minutes. The 2024 NBA Finals MVP then shared a story about Lakers superstar LeBron James postgame, via Forbes' Bobby Krivitsky.

"LeBron was like, when I first got into the league, my first start was against the Cleveland Cavaliers," he said. "After the game, he came up to me and told me in my ear, 'You're gonna be an All-Star one day. You're gonna be a great player.' He also said, 'You're playing for a great coach. Just keep your head up ... .'"

"We talked about that at [the 2026] All-Star Game, 'You remember that 10 years ago?'" he continued. "He smiles like 'Of course. I'm not surprised at anything you're doing right now. Just keep proving people wrong, keep doing what you gotta do. Keep leading your team, and people will take notice.'"