On Sunday night in Los Angeles, the Boston Celtics silenced the home crowd with a dominant 111-89 win over the Lakers at Crypto.com Arena. The win improved Boston to 37–19, second in the East, and completed a 2–0 season sweep of Los Angeles.
With 32 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals, Jaylen Brown carried Boston off his back as the team shot 48.2% from the floor. Through 51 games this season, Brown is averaging 29.2 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game on 48.1% shooting, all career highs in scoring and rebounding.
After the game, four-time MVP LeBron James publicly endorsed Brown’s MVP candidacy.
“With this whole MVP thing, I don’t understand why there isn’t some discussion about his name,” James said. “Like, nobody gave him a chance to start the season. And what’s his average, 30? Just under 30? It’s a popularity contest sometimes, I’ll tell you.”
The Celtics have been without Jayson Tatum all season due to an Achilles tear, with Jrue Holiday, Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis no longer on the roster. Tatum is not expected to return until at least March.
James praised Brown for providing stability to the revised roster as well as improving his own output.
“I think he tapped into the motivation of a lot of people who thought they were going to have a bad year,” James said. “The entire championship team has been revamped significantly, and he used it as motivation to keep them afloat. They’re playing great basketball, and it’s because of him and the rest of the guys. They’ve taken the next step.”
Brown has taken an expanded leadership role, helping keep Boston among the conference elite despite the overhaul. Additions like Nikola Vucevic have supported the rotation, but Brown’s production has driven the results.
Earlier this month, Brown and James were All-Star teammates on the USA Stripes team, where they revisited a rookie-year exchange in which James told Brown he would become an All-Star.
Their relationship previously gained attention during the 2024 Las Vegas Summer League, when Brown questioned Bronny James’ pro readiness.
James commented about Brown on Sunday, “We’ve had a very respectful relationship, other than that – he said about Brown in Summer League.” “But other than that, we’re absolutely fine.”
Brown later talked about Bronny in a social media post.
“Having your son in the NBA with you is a great accomplishment. …Bronny has all the tools to be successful. I look forward to watching his development.”
James said he and Brown “will be fine.”
“I think he went on social media and said something about it,” James said. “It’s all good, but Bronny still has a long way to go, but that’s another story. But baby, I mean, listen, JB is [great]. S—, he’s playing great basketball, man.”
Before Sunday’s matchup, former NBA star Tracy McGrady also insisted that as it is currently structured, the Celtics can reach the Eastern Conference Finals with Brown’s leadership at an MVP level. While this may seem bold on McGrady’s part, Boston remains competitive despite the roster changes. The Celtics are undoubtedly a threat in the East and are title contenders.
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