Nuggets coach gushes about Jaylen Brown: ‘He’s good for the NBA’

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Nuggets coach gushes about Jaylen Brown: ‘He’s good for the NBA’

Souichi Terada · MassLive

Thu, Jan 8, 2026 ·

3 min read

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BOSTON — Jaylen Brown has enjoyed the best season of his career, especially when it comes to scoring the ball. Occasionally he’ll still get, in his eyes, passed over for an accolade . But there’s a reason why the Celtics have exceeded expectations this season — Brown has been a huge part of that.

Other coaches around the league have long known about Brown’s abilities. But they’re now scouting him as Boston’s top scoring option on a nightly basis. Nuggets coach David Adelman had strong words in praising Brown before Wednesday’s game.

“The elite shooting in the midrange is such a big deal in our game,” Adelman said pregame before the Nuggets beat the Celtics . “It’s the late-clock ability. His overall size. His ability to play in the middle of the floor, which is really hard to come double people and not give up the 3-point line to a team like they have. I would just say his continued evolution of his game. He’s an elite All-Star player, two-way player and just watched him grow over the years.

“Not just the championship here. But with Jayson Tatum obviously out, more responsibility falls into his hands. I thought they did a great job building around him for this particular season with all the shooting that surrounds him. He’s a problem. He’s not fun to watch on tape when you have to play against him. I’m a fan of his just as a pure basketball person, not just as a coach. I actually got to spend some time with him in Africa when we were there, and he was such an impressive person. He’s good for the NBA.”

Brown scored 33 points in the loss to the Nuggets, shooting 14-for-29 from the field and 4-for-6 on 3-pointers. He added seven rebounds and four assists, though there were some struggles to the tune of seven turnovers. Still, Brown has shown this season that even when it’s an off-night, he can impact the game at a high level.

It’s been a new challenge for Brown this season with no Tatum. The Celtics overhauled their roster this past summer, so there were newer, unproven faces eager to get real minutes in the NBA. There have been some breakout players like Neemias Queta and Jordan Walsh . Others have contributed, like Anfernee Simons and Luka Garza .

But on a nightly basis, it’s still often the Brown show. As Adelman pointed out, Brown’s midrange game has been deadly all season. When the physical wing gets to his spot, he’s knocked down some impressive shots. Brown’s 50-point game against the Clippers was one of the best games of his career as the shot-making reached a different level.

The Celtics lost to the Nuggets, but it was just one blip in an otherwise impressive season. They’re still 23-13, good for third in the East. The C’s look like they could make some real noise in the conference — especially if Tatum returns to the court.

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