Jaylen Brown hopped on a livestream and casually dropped his favorite five NBA players of all time. It didn’t take long for fans to fire off their takes. The Boston Celtics star named Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Allen Iverson, and Tracy McGrady as his top five. Notably absent? Michael Jordan. And that was all the internet needed to spark a debate over Brown's take.

While the inclusion of Kobe, Bron, and Steph felt like no-brainers, and A.I. and T-Mac make sense to anyone who grew up watching their electric styles in the late ‘90s and early 2000s, folks couldn’t help but ask the obvious: No MJ? But that’s the thing. Brown didn’t say these were the greatest of all time. He said they were his favorites. That’s personal. That’s generational. He was born in 1996, so he saw peak Kobe and Iverson, not Jordan in his prime.

It’s also not like Brown has ever disrespected Jordan’s legacy. If asked to name the top five players ever, there’s no doubt MJ makes that cut. This was about inspiration, influence, and style. You can see Brown’s own game carries shades of T-Mac’s smooth scoring and Kobe’s footwork.

Cousy’s comments and the Celtics question

While Brown was showing love to his basketball idols, Celtics legend Bob Cousy stirred the pot in a different way. The Hall of Famer recently told The Boston Globe he doesn’t see Jaylen as someone who can carry Boston on his own.

“In my judgment, Jaylen is not quite at the superstar level that Tatum is at,” Cousy said. “Can he carry the load by himself? I see a major rebuilding effort here.”

That’s a tough assessment, especially after a year where Boston looked primed to make a repeat run. Cousy’s comments seem to echo a recurring theme around Brown, which is that no matter how much he achieves, he’s still fighting for respect. And whether it’s choosing favorites or chasing banners, Jaylen continues to carve his path. Whether people see it or not, he's walking in the footsteps of legends.

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