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'He used to light me up': Jaylen Brown names surprising player as 'hardest to guard'

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports
By Renzo Pocholo Salao | Last updated Aug 8, 2025 10:01 PM ET

A former San Antonio Spurs role player is living rent-free in Jaylen Brown’s head.

On Friday, the Boston Celtics All-Star appeared on a Twitch livestream with popular streamer PlaqueBoyMax at the team’s practice facility in Boston, Mass. Early in the stream, the internet personality asked Brown to name the player he had the most difficulty guarding throughout his decade-long NBA career.

Brown’s response was right out of left field.

“Hardest player to guard, you want me to be honest? Marco Belinelli. He used to light me up, bro,” Brown said.

“He used to never stop moving and I used to have to chase him around. The system we had was to chase Marco Belinelli through all these different screens. He’s not even getting the ball, and he’s still moving back and forth, so you never know when he’s about to take off full-speed and start running.”

Jaylen Brown said the hardest player he ever had to guard was SPURS LEGEND MARCO BELINELLI pic.twitter.com/P0lHtrNfQ4
— bray (@spursbeliever) August 8, 2025

Brown has had some of the toughest defensive assignments from the modern era of basketball. From physical anomalies like LeBron James and Kevin Durant to shifty guards like Kyrie Irving and James Harden, Brown has navigated the gauntlet defending top-tier offensive talent since he arrived in the league in 2016.

If you remove Belinelli’s name, one could even mistake Brown’s answer as a description of the experience of guarding Steph Curry.

Brown may have just wanted to avoid choosing a current player whom he would still have to guard next season. Belinelli has not been in the league since the 2019-20 campaign.

The Italian sharpshooter had career averages of 9.7 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.7 assists on 42.4% shooting from the floor. He was most known for his ability to space the floor from beyond the arc, but only shot a slightly-above-average 37.6% from deep for his career.

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

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