Jaylen Brown makes bold declaration about 2024-25 Celtics ceiling

Today at 11:18 AM

BOSTON — The 2023-24 Boston Celtics were relatively perfect, posting an incredible 16-3 record in the playoffs en route to their 18th championship in franchise history. And that was after they went 64-18 in the regular season, which was Boston’s best performance since their storied 2007-08 campaign. With all that excellence in mind, Celtics star Jaylen Brown still believes the current iteration of the C’s is better than last year’s impeccable squad.

Following a 114-108 win over the Utah Jazz on Monday night, the Celtics improved to 47-18 overall and tallied their fifth straight win. Last season, Boston also beat Utah in its 65th game, yet it moved to 51-14, comfortably in first place in the Eastern Conference.

The 2024-25 Celtics are four games shy of that pace and eight games behind the first-place Cleveland Cavaliers, who’ve won a whopping 15 games in a row. None of that stops Brown from having the utmost confidence in his teammates.

“We’ve had to make adjustments throughout the year,” he revealed during his postgame presser on Monday. “I feel like that has made us better, and we’re poised with more experience. We’ve been there before. I think our trust is there, so we just have to have that mindset each and every night to come out and dominate, which is hard, but I think we’re a better team than we were last year.”

Jaylen Brown is confident in this iteration of the Celtics:

"I think we're a better team than we were last year." pic.twitter.com/PvYhQAQkQb

— Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) March 11, 2025

Unlike last year, the Celtics are now stocked with championship DNA. Starting guard Jrue Holiday had a prior taste of glory when he won it all with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021, but Brown, fellow star Jayson Tatum, and the rest of the Celtics’ roster had never lifted the Larry O’Brien Trophy until last season.

In 2025, almost every Celtic can relish the fact that they’ve won at the highest level while recognizing no team has secured back-to-back titles since 2019. Repeating will be an uphill battle, however, Boston has the experience and talent to do it. And Brown knows it.

Is Jaylen Brown right; are the Celtics actually better than they were last season?

As for what the numbers say, the 2024-25 Celtics are slightly behind the 2023-24 team.

Boston entered the 2024 NBA Playoffs with the best offensive rating, the second-best defensive rating, and the best net rating in the league. At present, Boston holds the third-best net rating in the league thanks to its third-ranked offense and fifth-ranked defense.

Even with a lower net rating, the Celtics seem to be making history on a weekly basis during the 2024-25 campaign. Last Wednesday against the Portland Trail Blazers, Celtics guards Derrick White and Payton Pritchard both set career-highs while scoring over 40 points. They became the first pair of Green Teamers to drop at least 40 points each in the same game.

On Monday versus the Jazz, Celtics sharpshooter Sam Hauser notched a career-high 33 points after draining seven 3-pointers in the third quarter. Hauser’s offensive explosion in the third frame broke the record for the most makes from beyond the arc in a single quarter by a Celtic.

Although the final stretch of the regular season can be tough for battle-tested guys who’d rather skip ahead to the playoffs, Jaylen Brown hasn’t seen that impatience in the Celtics.

“This is moving into the best time of year,” he stated. “This is where the festivities are getting ready to begin. If anything, the excitement is starting to build. And you see guys are playing well, we’re sharpening our tools. We got the next guy up mentality, you know, a couple games ago it was [Derrick] White and Payton [Pritchard] that both went for 40. Tonight, Sam Hauser goes for 30.”

Unlike others, Jaylen Brown is excited for this last stretch of the regular season:

"This is moving into the best time of year. This is where the festivities are getting ready to begin. If anything, the excitement is starting to build. And you see guys are playing well, we're… pic.twitter.com/7Z3FhVgben

— Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) March 11, 2025

Counting rookie Baylor Scheierman’s 15-point performance in Thursday’s win against the Philadelphia 76ers, the Celtics have had four players set career-highs in points over the last four games. All those stellar outings have occurred at crucial times too, as Boston has been without starting center Kristaps Porzingis for six consecutive games.

Fun fact: the Celtics have had four different players set career-highs for points in the last four games (!)

3/5 vs. Blazers: Payton Pritchard (43 points) & Derrick White (41 points)

3/6 vs. 76ers: Baylor Scheierman (15 points)

3/10 vs. Jazz: Sam Hauser (33 points) pic.twitter.com/WZKFR0LCmL

— Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) March 11, 2025

That unfortunate streak could end on Wednesday when the C’s host the Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder. Porzingis, who’s been dealing with an unidentified viral illness, was upgraded to questionable on Tuesday. The Celtics would love to have him because the last time they squared off with the talented Thunder in January, Boston left with its first double-digit defeat of the season.

Whether the Latvian big man is in or out, Brown looks forward to the last leg of the regular season, because that means the playoffs are close.

“We’re sharpening our tools, and we’re getting ready for the most exciting time of the year,” he said.

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