"He realized he wasn’t making All-NBA" - Fans abuzz as Celtics benching Jaylen Brown ends his shot at league awards
There are only two games left on the Boston Celtics schedule and Jaylen Brown is set to miss one of them. On Friday and Sunday, the reigning NBA champions are hosting the Charlotte Hornets for their last two games of the 2024-25 regular season.
Brown has been ruled out of Friday's contest due to a knee injury, the same one that kept him out of Wednesday's game against the Orlando Magic. He now becomes ineligible for any awards as he'll fall just shy of the 65-game threshold.
Several fans brought up how Brown won't be considered for any awards following this announcement.
"He realized he wasn’t making All-NBA," one fan said.
"Just like that he wont get the 65. Played all those games for nothing," one person tweeted.
"NOOOO, HES NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO GET AN AWARD," another person said.
Other fans seem okay with him missing Friday's contest since they need him more in the playoffs.
"Keep him out and rested till the 2nd Rd," one person suggested.
"Thats fine need him healed up before playoffs," a fan said.
"Good Jaylen doesn’t have to play until the playoffs," another person pointed out.
The NBA's 65-game rule came into effect during the 2023-24 campaign. It states that a player needs to have played at least 65 games to be eligible for awards. Additionally, the rule also dictates that a player must play at least 20 minutes in these contests.
Jaylen Brown has played in 63 games this season. In all these games, he never played under 20 minutes. The lowest amount of time he's played in a game all year was against the Washington Wizards on Sunday when he logged 21:34.
If he becomes available or if coach Joe Mazzula decides to play him in their final game, he'll fall just one game shy of being eligible.
Aside from Brown, examples of stars who won't be eligible for awards are San Antonio Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama and Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant.
Also read: "That man got superpowers" - Jaylen Brown takes sneaky dig at LeBron James while praising Lakers star's longevity
The Boston Celtics have shown resilience and depth in the games that Jaylen Brown has missed this season
Jaylen Brown is a crucial member of the Boston Celtics team. He's a three-time All-Star and he was named the Finals MVP last year. Yet, they still found success when he did not suit up.
Excluding Friday's game against the Charlotte Hornets, Brown has missed 17 games this season. In those 17 games, Boston has lost just four.
They were blown out 96-76 on Wednesday against the Orlando Magic but none of their stars played in that game. They also lost against the Detroit Pistons 117-97 on Feb. 26. They were defeated 115-111 by the Cleveland Cavaliers on Dec. 1 and they fell to the Golden State Warriors on Nov. 6, 118-112.
However, this is not an indictment on Brown and is more a testament to the Celtics' depth. Aside from Jayson Tatum, the team also has Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford. Additionally, players like Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser have stepped up when needed.
How has Jaylen Brown performed this season for the Boston Celtics?
Jaylen Brown's scoring has dipped marginally this season but he still put up All-Star quality numbers. From 23.0 last season, he averaged 22.2 points per game this year. His field goal percentage has also dropped from 49.9% to 46.3%. The same has happened to his 3-point shooting, going from 35.4% to 32.4%.
While his scoring dipped, his playmaking improved slightly. He averaged 4.5 assists per game this season which is a career-high. This is the first time he's averaged over four a game in his career.