![\"Jaylen](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-2215138361_74a15d-e1754912274172.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPhoto by Brian Fluharty\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics<\/p>\n
With Jayson Tatum<\/a> sidelined for the 2025-26 season, the Boston Celtics<\/a> will rely on Jaylen Brown<\/a> to lead the offense in his absence. Brown, 28, is one of the most talented forwards in the NBA.<\/p>\n The issue is, Brown isn\u2019t the level of playmaker that Celtics fans have become accustomed to with Tatum. Nor is his a reliable three-point threat off the dribble. Instead, Brown is at his best when driving the lane, pressuring the rim and making reads as the defense collapses.<\/p>\n Perhaps that\u2019s why Bob Cousy isn\u2019t excited about the upcoming campaign. The Celtics legend shared his doubts about Brown\u2019s ability to lead the franchise during an August 8 interview with Dan Shaughnessy of The Boston Globe.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIn my judgment, Jaylen is not quite at the superstar level that Tatum is at,\u201d Cousy said. \u201cCan he carry the load by himself? I see a major rebuilding effort here. Jaylen certainly won\u2019t bring them to the promised land. Derrick White<\/a>\u2019s a good player, and he\u2019ll produce and he\u2019ll be consistent, but his game doesn\u2019t lend itself to carrying a team.\u201d<\/p>\n Brown has long been viewed as an ideal second option next to Tatum. However, after winning the 2024 Eastern Conference Finals MVP and NBA Finals MVP, it has been fair to wonder how he would hold up as the top option on a roster. Now, Celtics fans are going to get their answer.<\/p>\n Brown Happy to Do What\u2019s Needed in Order to Win<\/p>\n During a recent interview with Noa Dalzell of CelticsBlog<\/a>, Brown explained how he\u2019s always been willing to sacrifice in order to help the Celtics win games and remain competitive.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve had to change roles, styles,\u201d Brown said. \u201cI\u2019ve had to do things that other players of my talent just haven\u2019t had to do, and I\u2019ve been okay with them, because I\u2019ve always been a team guy. I feel like sometimes that gets taken for granted.\u201d<\/p>\n Brown continued.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m extremely grateful that we won a championship,\u201d Brown said. \u201cI\u2019m extremely grateful that we\u2019ve been able to have success, and that\u2019s what it\u2019s about. It\u2019s not all about you, it\u2019s not all about me, you know what I mean? I want the next generation to know that as well \u2014 it\u2019s okay to play your role on the team. It\u2019s okay to do whatever, but don\u2019t let that define you.\u201d<\/p>\n Now, after years of waiting, Brown will finally get to showcase his skills in a starring role.<\/p>\n Celtics Aren\u2019t Optimized for Brown<\/p>\n Regardless of what happens in the upcoming season, it would be unfair to judge Brown\u2019s ability to lead a team. He is more than capable of being a primary option. However, he would undoubtedly benefit from a roster that is designed around his skill set.<\/p>\n Instead, he\u2019s being given the keys to a rotation in flux, and one that will be designed with Tatum in mind. As such, Brown may struggle to give the best account of himself throughout the season.<\/p>\n Still, given his offensive and defensive skill set, his big-game experience, and his relentless will to win, Brown should prove more than capable of spearheading the Celtics, at least for the season ahead.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tAdam Taylor<\/a> is a basketball reporter covering the Boston Celtics and Phoenix Suns for Heavy. He has also written for CelticsBlog, USA Today, Yardbarker and FanSided. Adam has a bachelor\u2019s degree in creative writing from Open University. More about Adam Taylor<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Celtics\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Photo by Brian Fluharty\/Getty Images Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics With Jayson Tatum sidelined for the 2025-26 season, the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":59940,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,63,590,85],"class_list":["post-59939","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59939","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59939"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59939\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59940"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59939"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59939"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59939"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}