Jaylen Brown was named to the All-NBA Second Team on Sunday, the second time in his career he has been named to that squad, a recognition that capped a season of career highs and heavy usage for Boston.
Brown finished the voting with 44 first-team votes, 54 second-team votes and two third-team votes for a total of 384 points, according to results determined by a 100-member media panel; first-team votes were worth five points, second-team votes three and third-team votes one. Detroit’s Cade Cunningham narrowly edged Brown for the final First Team slot — Cunningham received 60 first-team votes and 38 second-team votes and was left off two ballots.
The numbers tracked the season Brown produced on the court: he averaged a career-best 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game while shooting 47.7 percent from the field, finishing as the NBA’s fourth-leading scorer and receiving the sixth-most MVP votes. Brown led the league in field goals made and attempted and ranked second in usage rate behind Luka Doncic.
Brown did much of that work as Boston’s primary option while Jayson Tatum recovered from an Achilles injury that kept Tatum out the first 62 games. The Celtics finished 56-26 and earned the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, a 56-win season that came despite losing nearly half of their title-winning rotation last offseason.
Individual milestones peppered the season: Brown earned his first career Eastern Conference Player of the Month honor in January, started his first NBA All-Star Game in February, scored at least 30 points in nine of his 10 December appearances and posted a career-high-tying 50 points in a Jan. 3 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
The selection also carries a roster and contract subtext. Brown is on a five-year supermax contract that runs through the 2028-29 season and is eligible for a two-year, $144 million extension in July, a timeline that makes his standing with voters and fans material to future narratives in Boston.
There was friction to the announcement. Brown told viewers on Twitch Sunday night that he was not surprised to be passed over for First Team honors and delivered several blunt assessments of how he believes he is perceived: "I’m not the most-liked, [by] fans or media," he said. "Sometimes I use my platform a little controversial, so I’m surprised I’m on any team, let alone first or second … I’m grateful for everything. I’m not surprised about nothing." He added, "I’m not the most liked player in the media," "At times, I’m not the most liked by the fans," and capped with, "I’m not on the first team, but hey, shoutout to those who made the first team." He also declared, "I believe I’m the best two-way player in the world," on the stream.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla, speaking in March after Brown moved into the top 10 on Boston’s all-time scoring list, framed Brown’s season as ownership of the franchise role: "You don’t take for granted being able to coach some of the best players in the game today, but some of the best players of all time," Mazzulla said. "For Jaylen, I think the responsibility and the ownership of taking on being a Celtic, and going after greatness, is extremely important and something that he takes very serious."
Derrick White, a Celtics guard, received three third-team All-NBA votes in the balloting, a small but notable nod to Boston’s supporting cast as the team heads into the postseason with Brown carrying the scoring and usage load. With a supermax contract in place, an extension eligible in July and a season that proved his peak scoring and playmaking, Brown’s placement on the Second Team looks less like a demotion and more like a referendum on narratives voters hold about him — a reality he acknowledged himself on Twitch and one the Celtics will have to answer on the court next season.
