Due to the absence of Jayson Tatum (Achilles) in 2025-26, the Boston Celtics will be Jaylen Brown's team this upcoming season. The star wing will be expected to carry a heavy scoring burden with the loss of Tatum, as well as the departures of Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis. Brown, Derrick White and newly acquired Anfernee Simons will lead an attack not quite as fearsome as the lineups Boston has rolled out over the past few seasons. As the soon-to-be 29-year-old enters his 10th NBA season, Brown has demonstrated some interesting statistical trends that will probably change in his new role of "scoring option number 1". Last season, Brown distributed a career-high 4.5 assists per game. He also took 17.7 shot attempts, a five-year low. This season, expect Brown to shoot more and pass less, which might hurt his field goal percentage. Last year, Brown shot 46.3 percent from the field, his worst effort since his 2016-17 rookie season. He also struggled a bit from three, shooting only 32.4 percent from behind the arc. Regardless, Boston will look to Brown and White to lead the offense. In what could be a bridge season for the Celtics, Brown has the opportunity to prove that his 2024 Finals MVP award was the harbinger of greater things to come.
