Jaylen Brown has hit the ground running to start the 2025-26 NBA season. The Boston Celtics forward is embracing a larger role in the absence of Jayon Tatum following an Achilles tendon injury.
Over his first 10 games, Brown is averaging 28.1 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.2 assists on 53.5% shooting from the field and 36.7% from deep. He’s leading the Celtics in drives with 13.7 per game and is in the 97th percentile among forwards for the volume of his mid-range jumpers. On defense, Brown is holding opponents to 41.7% shooting on the 10.8 shots he’s contesting per night.
When speaking to the media following Boston’s 110-123 loss to the Orlando Magic on Friday, Nov. 7, Neemias Queta praised Brown’s on-court performances and the improvements he’s shown to begin the season.
“He’s taking his game to the next level — the way he’s scoring the ball, the way he’s making plays for others as well,” Queta said, via Noa Dalzell of CelticsBlog. “He’s such a threat getting downhill that teams are starting to load up the head and shift, making the right reads, getting guys open. Yeah, man, he’s a dawg, even on the defensive end as well.”
In Tatum’s absence, Brown has assumed a challenging role. Not only is he the team’s primary offensive weapon, but he’s also their star point-of-attack defender. Yet, despite the workload, he’s piecing together an All-NBA-level start to the year.
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Furthermore, Brown has become the Celtics’ vocal leader, both in the locker room and on the court. “He’s always going to try and push us to the next level,” Queta said.
Without Tatum, and with multiple young and new faces, the Celtics face an uphill battle to be relevant this season. However, it appears Brown is doing everything in his power to keep the Celtics on the right track, and that will bode well for future seasons when Boston returns to being a contending team.
