Jaylen Brown’s first season with the Boston Celtics was also Isaiah Thomas’ last.
The two only played together for one season in 2016-17, when Thomas was the Celtics’ best player and Brown was just a 20-year-old kid with something to prove.
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The third overall pick, Brown showed some promise as a rookie but didn’t immediately become a star. He spent most of his time as a substitute, averaging only 17 minutes per game.
Thomas, on the other hand, is at the peak of his powers. He was an All-Star and MVP candidate and led Boston into the playoffs as the team’s leading scorer.
That year, Brown played more of a complementary role, and Thomas didn’t immediately view him as a superstar.
“I’d be lying if I said I thought he was going to be where he is now,” Thomas said Friday night at TD Garden as he watched his former teammate and the Celtics defeat the Miami Heat. “It’s so exciting to see him now being an All-Star, Finals MVP, NBA champion… I’m like a proud big brother.”
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It took Brown a few years, but he eventually developed into one of the league’s best players, helping Boston win a championship in 2024 while winning both the Eastern Conference Finals MVP and the NBA Finals MVP.
While Brown had plenty of help back then, he’s now proving he can lead a team on his own with Jayson Tatum out with an Achilles injury. Brown scored 30 points in his sixth straight game on Friday, becoming the fifth player in Celtics history to score 30 points.
Now 29, Brown is playing at an MVP level, just like Thomas did as a teammate nearly a decade ago.
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