The wrist injury that ended Jaylen Brown’s 2021 season lingered for years, the Celtics star revealed Friday night.
Before Boston’s 125-117 win over Toronto, Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic noted how Brown has improved as a ball-handler with his non-dominant left hand — an oft-discussed weakness earlier in his career. Asked postgame about Rajakovic’s comment, Brown pointed to the injury he suffered in 2021 and shared new details about his recovery process, which included several additional procedures over the ensuing years.
“I never looked at it as a weakness,” Brown said. “I mean, I tore all my ligaments in my wrist in 2021, and I’ve had some procedures and stuff post that, where I’ve had a couple of loose bodies, where I’ve had some chips in my wrist over the last couple years. One year was in that 2023 (Eastern Conference finals) when we came back down from that series 3-0 (before losing to Miami in Game 7). So I’ve had some issues. I don’t usually tell the media or the world about it, but I’ve had some issues with my left wrist. But I’ve always felt like my whole life, I’ve been able to get to my off hand. I’ve dunked on people with my left hand. I’ve never had an issue. But when you have injuries and things like that, you go through bad stretches where, probably some of those things you guys have seen.
“But I’ve been able to find some modern medicine that’s helped me regain some mobility in my wrist. Sometimes I wake up and I can feel the weather in my wrist at times. And at times I wake up, and it feels great. So it’s just one of those things I just got to navigate. But I’ve definitely found some modern medicine that’s helped increase the blood flow and the range. But I’ve had some issues, since 2021 with my wrist. But I like it when people force me to my left. I hope they keep doing it.”
Brown’s “modern medicine” remedies included platelet-rich plasma injections, he said. He described subsequent setbacks that caused his wrist to swell up for weeks and limited his range of motion.
“It’s taken place a bunch of times throughout the years,” Brown explained. “I’ve had to take trips to go get PRP shots, different types of stem cell treatment on my wrist where it’s helping you regain mobility and things like that. Sometimes you fall on it; that can cause fragmentation or something and it swells up, so for two weeks or a month, you can’t really move it or anything like that.
“So what do you do? Do you miss games? No, you don’t miss games. You’ve got to figure it out. You’ve still got to keep playing try to find ways to be effective. So even in the past, when I’ve had issues, I still got ways to be effective. But right now, it’s feeling fine. That could change. But I have worked on it a lot. My health status is what I focus on the most.”
Brown battled various injuries last season, most notably a partial meniscus tear in his knee that limited him from mid-February through the playoffs. But he’s avoided those issues so far this season, missing just two of Boston’s first 34 games (both due to illness, according to the team) and producing at an All-NBA level (29.7 points, 6.4 rebounds, 4.9 assists per game).
Asked why he chose to share these details about a five-year-old injury, Brown replied that he’d never been asked about them before. The 10th-year pro added, though, that he’s felt more comfortable letting his guard down this season.
“It’s the age of truth, 2026,” he said. “The Year of the Horse is on its way. It’s a year where truth will emerge, so I’ve been (Twitch) streaming, being more transparent. So he asked me a question, and I gave him an answer. At times that might not have been the case, but that’s the truth.”
