Jaylen Brown Earned His Moment of Redemption

One year after failing when the Celtics needed him most, Jaylen Brown redeemed himself. He earned it every step of the way.

Brown (center) celebrates winning the Larry Bird Eastern Conference Finals MVP. /

The ear-to-ear grin that split Jaylen Brown's face upon learning he had been named the Eastern Conference finals MVP was perhaps the most genuine show of emotion fans have seen since he joined the Boston Celtics. The All-Star forward has always been a reserved individual in front of the cameras; such pure expressions of joy in the view of the public are usually meant for his teammates, and his teammates alone.

But on Monday night, he couldn't help himself. His smile shone as he was mobbed by the Celtics, Larry Bird Trophy in hand held high. He had just averaged 29.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game on 51.7% shooting from the floor to sweep his way to the Finals. It was a joyful moment. For Brown, it might've meant a touch more. Standing on that stage meant he came full circle from a year prior, when he sat in front of reporters and told all who could hear that he failed his team and his city against the Miami Heat.

It would make sense if just a bit of the joy emanating from Brown stemmed from a sense of redemption that he earned the hard way.

God is the greatest 🏆 #4more pic.twitter.com/LxAWpOYKKC

— Jaylen Brown (@FCHWPO) May 28, 2024

There have been few players in recent history who were more universally, harshly and justly criticized than Brown after the 2023 Eastern Conference finals. It marked the worst series of his career as a primary option for Boston, culminating in a truly disastrous Game 7 performance in which the Celtics' playoff hopes rested entirely on his shoulders following an injury to Jayson Tatum. Brown posted 19 points on 8-of-23 shooting and a brutal eight turnovers in the 19-point loss to the Heat. He didn't shy away and shouldered responsibility from the moment the final whistle blew, but that didn't stop the noise from coming.

He can't go left. He has the worst tunnel vision in the league. He has no spatial awareness on the court and falls asleep off-ball on defense.

The criticisms were a little overstated thanks to the stage of his failure, but they were also not untrue. Those were the biggest weaknesses in Brown's game after he perfected his scoring craft to the tune of a career-high 26.6 points per game that season and was named to his first All-NBA team. Brown acknowledged his faults after the Heat loss and stated he would get better.

It's one thing to say that. It's quite another to go out and do it, especially given his collapse in Game 7 did not change the $300 million record-setting contract he signed later that offseason. It would have been easy for Brown to rest on his laurels after securing the bag and watching Boston add even more talent around him.

But he did not. Brown got better in every way he promised he would.

His court vision improved dramatically. He understood how defenses react to his drives and would get into the paint with a plan rather than a hope to get a good look, and posted his best assist-to-turnover ratio since becoming a lead ballhandler for the Celtics. He worked on his left-handed finishing—and it was obvious he improved in that area. Brown took a renewed sense of pride on the defensive side of the ball and is a key cog in Boston's elite defense.

And, appropriately, his improvements were on display in the final minutes of the Celtics' Game 4 win over the Indiana Pacers. The work Brown put in got his team to the mountaintop he'd failed to reach 12 months previously. He won the day, and the series, by swatting Andrew Nembhard at the rim before driving into the paint on the other end and finding Derrick White for a go-ahead bucket— two plays that were far from automatic in 2023.

Jaylen Brown with two huge plays. First the block, then the dime.

And what a shot by Derrick White. It's actually a game-winning three: pic.twitter.com/WJR6MCAaWx

— Tomek Kordylewski (@Timi_093) May 28, 2024

Sports are chock-full of redemption stories but rarely does an athlete get to enjoy such a linear progression. Brown failed in last year's playoffs on the precipice of the NBA Finals thanks to multiple holes in his game. He patched those holes, helped get his team back to that precipice, and got the chance to push them over the finish line using the very same skills he was lacking one year ago.

Brown earned the Eastern Conference finals MVP trophy. He earned the right to be up there with his teammates, smiling so wide his face might crack. He earned his moment of redemption, and no one can take it away.