Jaylen Brown has made some headlines since winning the NBA Finals with the Boston Celtics this year, winning an ESPY and also taking shots at the committee for leaving him off of Team USA in favor of teammate Derrick White. Brown of course was rewarded for his efforts with the Finals MVP trophy, and is part of a Celtics squad that figures to continue to compete for championships in the coming years.

Recently, Brown caused more controversy when he listed his all-time NBA starting five, which included Stephen Curry, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, and Bill Russell. One person who wasn't thrilled with the notable exclusion of Chicago Bulls icon Michael Jordan was none other than former Celtics Finals MVP Paul Pierce, who recently took to FS1's Undisputed to relay his questions, comments, and concerns.

“Most of this new generation say, ‘Well, I didn't see [Michael Jordan] play.' But then you got Bill Russell on the list,'” said Pierce, via UNDISPUTED on X, the social media platform formerly referred to as Twitter. “…Jordan is on everyone's list. And I know you have issues with Nike. Kobe was a Nike guy. LeBron's a Nike guy. KD's a Nike guy. I just don't get it. It's just like, maybe you were supposed to get drafted by Michael in Charlotte and had an issue there… Come on, JB.”

Indeed, Jordan is a consensus top five player and number one shooting guard on most people's list, but Brown has always seemed to be a player who marched to the beat of his own drum.

Can the Celtics repeat?

Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown and Kysre Gondrezick arrive on the red carpet before the 2024 ESPYS at Dolby Theatre.
Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports
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At this point, it would appear that the only thing stopping the Celtics from once again hoisting the Larry O'Brien trophy in 2025 would be injuries, and it would probably take more than one of them. After all, Boston destroyed the competition in the 2024 playoffs largely without help of Kristaps Porzingis, who is expected to miss the opening portion of next year's campaign as he recovers from surgery.

With Brown now squarely in the heart of his prime at the soon to be age of 28, and Jayson Tatum entering his age 27 season, it's feasible that the Celtics could continue to compete for championships for years to come, although it's going to become very difficult to keep this entire team together beyond the 2024-25 season.

In any case, the 2024-25 schedule is set to be released in August, with the season expected to begin in October.