All-Star Brown has bigger goals in mind
Wing: 'We just got more important things to worry about'
Jaylen Brown has made it clear that being named an All-Star is not a priority to him. Last month, the Celtics star said he stopped paying attention to voting a long time ago, and expressed some displeasure with the process.
The morning after Brown officially became an All-Star for the second time in his career — selected as one of seven Eastern Conference reserves — that tune didn’t change. He had a quick joke when asked how it felt.
“It feels great. It’s the best day of my life,” Brown said with a straight face, before cracking a smile to reveal he was being sarcastic.
Brown wasn’t the first Celtic to pour cold water on their All-Star recognition. On Tuesday, the day after he was named an All-Star Game head coach, Joe Mazzulla said it meant nothing to him personally, but acknowledged the work his coaching staff and players have done to earn the nod and that the experience will be great for his family.
The Celtics have bigger goals in mind.
“We just got more important things to worry about,” Brown said. “I don’t want to sound ungrateful. I think it is a tremendous honor to be recognized amongst the best. But there’s a lot of great players that are in our league as well. Determining factors in voting process, politics. I’m grateful, but at the same time, there’s a lot more important things to worry about.”
“From a mental standpoint, I’ve kind of just gotten (in) a habit of not letting others determine my value. People give you accolades, or people criticize you, but I kind of try to stay the same. I’ve kind of got a habit of that. So forgive me if I’m not showing my excitement, but I’m extremely grateful.”
Brown, who made the All-Star team for the first time in 2021, was snubbed last season. He insisted then that it wasn’t disappointing to be left off. But he’s come back stronger. Brown was a big reason why the Celtics advanced to the NBA Finals, and was their best player during the loss to the Warriors.
Then, after a self-described humbling summer of hard work, Brown is producing a career-year for the first-place C’s. He entered Friday averaging a careerbest 27.0 points per game, and has cemented himself as a star in the league. He came up just short of being an All-Star starter and was a lock to be a reserve.
But that snub last season didn’t seem to motivate him — or at least, he hasn’t expressed that publicly. Brown has said multiple times this season that he feels like he’s among the best players in the league. He doesn’t feel like he needs to be named an All-Star to prove that.
“The goal is every year to come out and perform the best I can possibly be and help my team win games,” Brown said. “Whatever happens in the midst of that, I can live with. I feel like this year, I’ve helped my team be in a position to be the No. 1 seed. I feel like I’ve performed to a level, I’ve been injuryfree. I’ve been able to have career-highs in certain categories, so it definitely makes sense. I think when I’m performing at my best and I’m getting better and better every single year, that’s the accolade that I appreciate the most. Anything else that comes with that is fine.”
Brown said it was after his fourth season in the league when he experienced a mental shift in how he felt about his status and how he was viewed by others. There wasn’t a specific moment that caused a change, but that playing in Boston has taught him not to get too invested in the highs and lows of the sport.
“It’s all about the next day,” Brown said. “The other day, I missed two free throws to help my team win a game, it’s all about the next day. So when it was All-Star today, it’s all about the next day. …
“Playing in Boston, there’s an excellence demanded of you every single day. So you’ve got no time to be down or low; you’ve got to focus on what’s next. And because of the fan base here and how involved they are, how aggressive they are, you’ve got to be able to have tough skin. And it’s not for everybody. You’ve seen some people come here and struggle with that. For me, for my own sanity, I just had to be able to move forward, take the good times and the bad times and just roll on. So that’s kind of the mindset I’ll always have.”
Odds & ends
With the trade deadline looming on Thursday, it’s uncertain if the Celtics will make a move to bolster their roster for the rest of the season and playoff run. How involved is Mazzulla in discussions with president of basketball operations Brad Stevens about potential moves? Mazzulla didn’t offer much when asked about the relationship he’s built with Stevens on those matters.
“I’m the interim head coach, he’s the general manager,” Mazzulla said. “That’s the relationship that we have.” …
Marcus Smart missed his sixth consecutive game on Friday with a right ankle sprain. Earlier this week, the point guard said he and the Celtics were weighing the possibility of him resting through the All-Star break, but Mazzulla didn’t have an update on that decision yet. …
Suns guard Devin Booker missed his 20th consecutive game on Friday due to a groin injury.