Pressure is on Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum & Celtics Following Award Announcement

Jaylen Brown stood in shock when the two-time champion and Boston Celtics radio announcer Cedric Maxwell announced him as Eastern Conference Finals Most Valuable Player after sweeping the Indiana Pacers.

"I wasn't expecting that at all," Brown said after winning Eastern Conference Finals' MVP award. "I don't ever win (expletive)."

- Jaylen Brown after Game 4

Perhaps he assumed it would go to his All-Star teammate Jayson Tatum. However, Brown was the one who drained a corner-3 while surrounded to lift the Celtics to an overtime win in Game 1, his 40-point masterpiece performance led in Game 2, and his steal and pass to Derrick White's game-winning three capped the series finale.

Jaylen averaged 29.8 points while shooting at a 51.7% clip, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.0 steals per game against the Pacers. He received the Larry Bird Award, a name synonymous with winning championships in Boston. As Brown and Tatum return to the NBA Finals for the second time in six tries, the pressure's on the championship-less duo to finally get it done.

Bird won three championships, and his teammate Maxwell, the Celtics' radio color commentator, won two alongside Larry, including the 1981 Finals MVP. Boston will play the winner between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Dallas Mavericks, who currently hold a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference Final series.

If the Mavs finish the job, Luka Doncic, who finished third in MVP voting this year, and Kyrie Irving, the former Celtic, will attract plenty of fanfare and popularity against Boston. But, given the experience and dominant regular-season numbers, Brown, Tatum, and the Celtics will be heavy favorites to win in front of a city that isn't anticipating anything less.

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