Jaylen Brown faced a massive test of his faith last season when a Boston Celtics rollercoaster campaign threatened to turn his career from up-and-coming starter to role-playing contributor. Brown was yanked in and out of the starting lineup after Gordon Hayward returned from a year-long injury, putting his playoff achievements in the rearview mirror, as his scattered contributions didn't help his case to remain a starter.
The Celtics had changed their philosophy, going all-in on Kyrie Irving after a season of successful ball-sharing basketball that got them a win short of the NBA Finals. Brown was no longer an active cog, but rather one waiting for passes and expected to finish plays.
After a 1-of-9 shooting night against the Utah Jazz, Brown remembers being at the point of no return.
“I was like almost to the point where I was fed up. You can go back and watch that game. You can probably see it on my face,” Brown told Yaron Weitzman of Bleacher Report.
Brown remembers at one point Jazz star Donovan Mitchell asking him if he was okay.
“And I couldn't even say like, ‘I'm good, bro.' I couldn't even give him one of those.”
It wouldn't take long for Celtics President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge to notice Brown's frustration and ask him later that night.
“I told him I was fine even though I wasn't,” said Brown. “I remember that game was where I was like at the point of no return.”
Brown was utterly frustrated. His solution? Just play.
“Coaching staff. Front office. Everything. I literally just stopped caring what they had to say, and I just played basketball, what I've been doing my entire life,” he said. “Like, I told myself that no matter what [Celtics head coach] Brad [Stevens] and no matter what Danny and no matter what anybody has to say, I'm going to just play basketball, and that's it. It was that simple.
“I needed to stop looking over my shoulder because I might get subbed out and stop thinking that much during the game. It was like, ‘Fuck that, I'm going to just play and let the chips fall. I had to give myself my confidence back, and things like that, and remind myself of who I was and what I brought to this game and what I possibly could do.”
Brown finished the season as a starter and came into his own in the playoffs, following it with a stint with Team USA in the summer and a newfound penchant for scoring the ball, now averaging 20 points per game and bound for All-Star consideration.
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