The All-NBA teams were announced on Sunday, and the bold takes are flying in. One NBA legend is claiming that Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown was more deserving of a spot in the All-NBA first team than Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Dončić.
Paul Pierce Claims Jaylen Brown Should’ve Made All-NBA First Team Over Luka Dončić
Brown was named to the All-NBA Second Team, making this his second All-NBA selection. Meanwhile, Dončić was named to the All-NBA First Team alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokić, Victor Wembanyama, and Cade Cunningham.
Celtics legend Paul Pierce weighed in on the All-NBA selections and felt that Brown was deserving of a first-team nod. The 2008 NBA champion and Finals MVP felt that Brown was in the NBA MVP conversation after leading the Celtics to 56 wins and the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference despite being without Jayson Tatum for a large chunk of the season.
Pierce claimed that he would put Brown in place of Dončić on the All-NBA First Team.
“I thought he was in the MVP conversation. When you’re in MVP conversation, you should be in the first team. But the guys that made it are also very deserving. If I had to take one person off, maybe Luka Dončić,” Pierce said on the “No Fouls Given” podcast.
“I would have probably removed Luka for Jaylen” –@paulpierce34 on Jaylen Brown not making All-NBA 1st team
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— No Fouls Given (@NFGShow) May 25, 2026
Pierce added that the Lakers star had a supporting cast led by LeBron James and Austin Reaves. Dončić finished the season as the leading scorer in the NBA, averaging 33.5 points per game. Meanwhile, Brown averaged 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game for the Celtics.
“I know that’s saying a lot because Luke did lead the league in scoring. But he had more to work with. Think about it, he had LeBron James all year, he had Austin Reaves most of the year,” Pierce said. “Jaylen Brown, he did the most with the least out of all these guys out of all these guys, and maybe Cade Cunningham. But Brown didn’t have a second All-Star. A lot of these guys did. So I would have probably removed Luka for Jalen.”
Pierce even claimed that Brown was fourth on his MVP list. In the actual NBA MVP voting, the Celtics star finished sixth, receiving 89 points total. Dončić actually finished fourth in voting with 250 points, which hurts Pierce’s argument a bit.
Recently, Brown has been making plenty of headlines since the Celtics’ first-round exit. He claimed this was his favorite season in the NBA, stirring controversy and even raising doubts about his future with the franchise. The 29-year-old is also currently involved in a beef with ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith.
