Jaylen Brown is an All-NBA caliber player. Brown has taken the league by storm since he entered the NBA during the 2016-17 season. For his career, he has averaged 19.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game while contributing a steal per night. He has been rewarded for his stellar play over the years, being named an Eastern Conference All-Star four times (one of which was this season). In addition, during the Celtics championship run last season, he was named both Eastern Conference Finals and Finals MVP.
This year, Brown is averaging 22.2 points per game to go along with 5.8 rebounds and a career-high 4.5 assists per game. These numbers would put him in contention for potential All-NBA team recognition. But starting in the 2023-24 season, the league implemented a rule where players had to play at least 65 games and log at least 20 minutes in each game to be eligible for All-NBA teams and end-of-season awards.
One of the reasons why Brown has not played 65 games so far this season is because of a right knee impingement, which has kept him out for a stretch. He is currently at 63 games and needs to play in Boston's last two games to be eligible for end-of-season awards.
On Friday, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla spoke on Jaylen Brown’s injury:
"He’s doing well. No one knows their body, no one knows how to push themselves, no one knows how to prepare themselves, body and mind, through the rigors of a season (like him). At the end of the day, the most important thing is just kind of trust in Jaylen, and trust in his work, trust in his process and also trust in the training staff and the sports science and the guys that put the time in all the time. ... I trust that he’ll be ready to go when it matters the most."Joe Mazzulla
The Boston Celtics have already clinched the second seed in the Eastern Conference and have nothing to play for in the regular season. As a result, Coach Mazzulla needs to sit the four-time All-Star for the final two games instead of risking further injury.
In addition, the team will get a week off as they await their first-round playoff opponent, which will be determined by the NBA play-in tournament immediately after the regular season ends. The Celtics and their fans can only hope that the time off will allow Brown to get closer to 100% for hopefully another championship.