Jaylen Brown and the Boston Celtics are not expected to be a major threat in the Eastern Conference in the 2025-26 NBA season. The team has changed significantly after a few core players left during the offseason. Players like Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday were traded, while veteran Al Horford signed with the Golden State Warriors. Without them, many believe the Celtics aren’t real threats to win the NBA title.
Additionally, All-Star forward Jayson Tatum is likely to miss the entire campaign as he recovers from a torn Achilles tendon. Without these players, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Boston won’t be a serious problem against the rest of the NBA.
Ahead of the new season, however, Brown made a bold statement about the team’s potential. The All-Star forward believes that the Celtics still have what it takes to compete on a high level. The one-time Finals MVP expressed his belief in the team’s roster.
“We just gotta stay the course,” Brown said. “We got enough. We’re looking at other teams — we feel like we’re just as talented or we could beat them. The most important thing is not hanging your head after some mistakes or hanging your head after a loss. We just gotta move forward.”
Jaylen Brown is expected to lead the team since Tatum won’t be on the court with the team for some time.
“I come to work every day trying to share my experiences, my basketball knowledge,” Brown said. “And also thinking about how I can bring the most out of everybody around me and my teammates. How to make them better as well as trying to perform at my highest level. It’s a balance. I have the tools to do it.”
Brown is embracing his role as a leader for Boston.
Jaylen Brown has shown significant growth in being a leader
Without Tatum, Jaylen Brown is poised to be the leader for the Celtics. Ahead of the new year, the star forward has shown flashes of how he can lead by being more assertive offensively. In their first preseason game, which was against the Memphis Grizzlies, he set the tone for the entire team, leading to a 121-103 win.
He had 21 points on 46.2% shooting from the field. Even though it was a preseason game, Brown still sent a message to his team to establish their authority on the floor.
Fans will see more of that for the rest of the year from Brown.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
