Jaylen Brown has established himself as one of the best 15 players in the NBA this season.
The former Cal star is in the middle of his 10th year (all with the Celtics).
Most recently, the Celtics beat the Los Angeles Lakers (in California) by a score of 111-89.
Brown finished with 32 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals while shooting 10/28 from the field in 36 minutes of playing time.
Marcus Smart Speaks About Former Teammate Jaylen Brown
After the game, Brown’s former teammate (Marcus Smart) spoke about Brown when he met with the media (h/t Justin Turpin of WEEI).
Smart: “What he’s always been able to do… It always has just been overshadowed, JB has. Now, with no shadow around him, you get to see Jaylen for Jaylen… Jaylen is doing exactly what he’s been doing when I was there.”
Brown is now averaging 29.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.0 steals per contest while shooting 48.1% from the field and 34.4% from three-point range in 51 games.
NEW You Got Boston from Celtics-Lakers.
– Jaylen Brown’s MVP candidacy
– How Payton Pritchard has found a flow state
– The young guys (Hugo, Baylor, Jordan) are defending
– And more! https://t.co/RvkENizfka— Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzell) February 23, 2026
The Celtics are currently the second seed in the Eastern Conference with a 37-19 record in 56 games.
They are in the middle of a three-game winning streak (and 8-2 over their last ten).
Following the Lakers, the Celtics will visit the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday in Arizona.
On the road, they have gone 19-10 in 29 games away from Boston.
“Joe Mazzulla’s doing an amazing job, Jaylen Brown’s doing a great job leading this team. … And then Tatum is about to come back with Vucevic? It’s a scary Celtics team right now.”@MarcJSpears on the Celtics after their dominant win over the Lakers 🏀 pic.twitter.com/4PHFlXWZzL
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) February 23, 2026
On the other side, Smart finished the loss with one rebound and four assists while shooting 0/7 from the field in 22 minutes of playing time.
The 2022 Defensive Player of the Year is in the middle of his first season playing for the Lakers.
NEW @CelticsCLNS — When it comes to Jaylen’s MVP case, there’s a path, but he’ll need some breaks.
That’s how it goes for every winner though, and he’s put himself in a real position to win it.
More on LeBron’s comments to me about Jaylen’s case: https://t.co/F0DGnqKfrj
— Bobby Manning (@RealBobManning) February 23, 2026
The Lakers are the fifth seed in the Western Conference with a 34-22 record in 56 games.
