Buckle up: How Jaylen Brown has thrived defending NBA stars originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
In Game 1 of the 2024 NBA Finals, Jaylen Brown picked the pocket of Luka Doncic in the backcourt and streaked in for a dunk. To celebrate, he mimicked a seatbelt fastening, a move he’s repeated many times this season.
Fueled by snubs for both All-Defense and All-NBA last season, Brown took out his frustrations on the Pacers and Mavericks, earning MVP honors in both the Eastern Conference Finals and the NBA Finals as Boston stomped its way to Banner 18.
Brown continues to embrace the challenge of routinely defending the opposing team’s best players to start the 2024-25 campaign.
With Cade Cunningham and the Detroit Pistons back in town Thursday night — another early-season tilt added after Boston failed to advance in the NBA Cup — it left us wondering how Brown’s individual defensive metrics look through the first 24 games of the new season.
After all, Cunningham has been one of Brown’s most frequent assignments this season, with Brown limiting Detroit’s star guard to seven points on 3-of-9 shooting over the first two meetings of the season. Cunningham has generated 48 points on 20-of-39 shooting against all other Boston defenders this season, per NBA tracking numbers.
For the season, Brown is holding opponents to 2.5 percent shooting below expected output. That’s not only in line with his marks from last season but also second-best among regulars on the Celtics, with only Derrick White (3.2 percent below expected) ahead of him.
But it’s the level of opponent Brown is defending that makes his mark that much more impressive. It was White who noted during the 2024 playoff run that Brown deserved an All-Defense nod because of who he yearns to defend.
“[Brown] was unreal [last] season, taking on that challenge,” White said. “Whenever there’s a big name or big player, he wanted the challenge.”
This season appears to be no different. Brown’s top 10 most common matchups continues to read like an All-Star ballot. Here’s a look at Brown’s top 10 most frequent matchups this season based on total possessions defended, per NBA tracking:
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Beyond Antetokounmpo, Brown has been rock solid against some of the opposition’s top scoring threats. It left us wondering where Brown might rank among other non-centers in terms of overall defense.
Among the 70 qualifying players 6-foot-7 or under, with at least 10 field goals defended per game and 10-plus games played, Brown ranks 14th overall while holding opponents to 2.5 percent below expected field goal percentage. Perhaps more impressive: Brown’s opponent expected field goal percentage of 47.3 percent ranks fifth in that group, highlighting how often he’s defending elite scorers.
Brown’s foul percentage is down to a career-low 2.6 percent of Boston’s plays, per Cleaning the Glass data. That ranks in the 80th percentile among all wings. Boston’s defensive rating is 1.3 points per 100 possessions better with Brown on the court in non-trash time minutes, per CTG data. Brown’s steal and block percentages are down a bit from last season but are in line with his career averages.
Sneaking onto an All-Defense team will be no easy goal for Brown, particularly when Boston’s starting backcourt of White and Jrue Holiday have become mainstays on that 10-player list. Last season, Brown earned only seven points in media voting, garnering three First-Team votes and one Second-Team nod.
But his willingness take on defensive challenges, all without sacrificing his offensive output, deserves a bigger spotlight. Brown has made great strides on that side of the ball. And we suspect we’ll see a whole lot more of that seatbelt celebration moving forward.
