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Jaylen Brown’s leadership role will determine the Celtics' season
Boston Celtics guard/forward Jaylen Brown. Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

Jaylen Brown’s leadership role will determine the Celtics' season

When Jayson Tatum went down with a torn Achilles during the Eastern Conference semifinals, it appeared the contention window for the Boston Celtics' slammed shut. As Tatum begins a long rehab process, Brown faces the challenge of not only carrying the scoring load, but of redefining himself as the Celtics’ first option in a drastically altered lineup.

A gutted, but necessary roster for the Celtics

President of basketball operations Brad Stevens spent the summer reshaping a roster that could no longer withstand the NBA’s second-apron luxury tax. Boston’s 2024 championship core was meticulously built and richly paid. After their title, it became a casualty of the league’s new financial penalties. In the span of two months, the Celtics shed more than $100 million in salary commitments, and in the process, most of their veteran depth.

Jrue Holiday was traded to Portland for Anfernee Simons, a dynamic scorer but not a true facilitator. Kristaps Porziņģis was dealt to Atlanta for draft relief. Al Horford and Luke Kornet departed in free agency, and with their exits went most of Boston’s frontcourt size and leadership.

What remains is a skeleton of the group that hoisted the Larry O’Brien Trophy last June. Tatum, Derrick White, Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser are the only rotation holdovers from that title run, leaving Brown as the lone (healthy) star.

Jaylen Brown’s evolution

Brown has long thrived as Boston’s second option, capable of erupting for 30 points on any night and being the go-to option in crunch time. Tatum gets the All-NBA First Team nods and documnetary spotlights, but Brown was the 2024 Finals MVP. That balance helped fuel the Celtics’ success, yet it also left unanswered questions about Brown’s ability to run an offense when defenses load up on him.

Those questions will now define the season.

Without Tatum’s gravity, Brown must expand his game as a playmaker and tone-setter. His 2024-25 averages—22.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and a career-high 4.5 assists—suggest progress, but Boston will need more than numbers to make the playoffs. They need outright dominance from Brown.

The Celtics offense, once built around two dynamic wings, will have to flow through Brown’s decision-making. He’ll be asked to initiate sets, find shooters like Hauser and White, defend opposing wings, and create rim pressure without the spacing Porziņģis once provided. For a player whose greatest skill has been attacking downhill, the adjustment will test his patience.

The Celtics have a leadership void

The departures of Holiday and Horford stripped Boston not just of talent, but of its veteran voice. Stevens has emphasized that the organization views this transition year as an opportunity for Brown to grow into that role.

“Jaylen is the heartbeat of that team,” trainer Chris Johnson said on Dwyane Wade's Wy Network podcast. “We he goes, that team goes. Because of his toughness. He's like a boxer.”

A narrow path to the playoffs

With injuries ravaging the Indiana Pacers and Philadelphia 76ers, Boston still has enough talent to compete for a playoff spot in the East, but the margin is thinner than it’s been in years. Simons, while electric as a scorer, offers little in terms of table-setting. The frontcourt rotation behind Hauser consists of young, unproven players.

At 28, Brown is entering his physical prime and the midpoint of his massive contract extension. The Celtics, once the league’s deepest team, are now banking on him to bridge a soft rebuilding era.

If he succeeds in guiding Boston back to the postseason, he’ll shed the co-star label for good. If not, this season could mark the end of the franchise’s championship window as we knew it.

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