Celtics valued – As Boston prepares for the fallout of its blockbuster trade sending Jaylen Brown to the 76ers, ESPN NBA reporter Brian Windhorst says the Celtics didn’t view Brown as their best player last season—believing Derrick White’s year was better, even amid White’s of
Jaylen Brown’s season looked like a coronation from the outside—especially with Jayson Tatum sidelined for a majority of the year as he rehabbing back from a ruptured Achilles tendon. Brown took over as Boston’s leader and top scoring option, helping the Celtics earn the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference with a 56-26 record.
His production was historic: career highs in points (28.7), rebounds (6.9), and assists (5.1). He earned Second Team All-NBA honors and finished sixth in NBA MVP voting. And yet. in the weeks leading into Boston’s trade with the 76ers—announced on Wednesday—there was a fracture between what Brown’s numbers suggested and what his own team supposedly believed.
On the “Hoop Collective,” ESPN NBA reporter Brian Windhorst said the Celtics felt Derrick White had a better season than Brown, even though Brown was campaigning for MVP.
“I just know that the Celtics felt that even though Jaylen Brown was talking about himself for MVP. or there was this MVP campaign for Jaylen Brown. the Celtics did not feel that Jaylen had the best season on their team — and I don’t mean Jayson Tatum. ” Windhorst said. “They felt that Derrick White had a better season. The statistics that people use to analyze said that.”.
White, after all, was a defensive cornerstone. He earned NBA All-Defensive First Team honors last season while averaging 16.5 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 5.4 assists over 34.1 minutes per game.
But White’s offensive numbers didn’t match the narrative that would normally crown him Boston’s best overall player. He shot 39.4 percent from the field, and his 3-point shooting dipped to 32.7 percent. Those struggles loomed larger in Boston’s first-round exit against Philadelphia. when White shot 27.3 percent from 3-point range over the seven-game series.
The contrast matters now because Brown’s standing—inside Boston and across the league—has been under a microscope in recent weeks. Boston ultimately traded the star wing to the Sixers, in exchange for 36-year-old Paul George, two first-round picks, and two second-round picks.
Days before the trade, Brown took to X to call out NBA insider and former Nets assistant GM Bobby Marks after Marks said some analytic models didn’t rate Brown as highly.
“There’s mixed feelings about [Brown],” Marks said. “The analytics on Jaylen Brown is not good … I had an analytics guy tell me, ‘we view Brown as the seventh-best player on an NBA team’.”
Brown fired back on X, writing: “Analytics nowadays used to discredit and control narratives.” He added, “Roll the ball out, none of these guys better than me on both ends.”
He also wrote: “Nobody has won more combined regular season and playoff games since I entered the league 10 years ago,” and went on, “Analytics are ruining the game. We playing AI hoops.”
Those posts landed just before Boston moved Brown to Philadelphia, turning a season defined by his numbers into one defined by what the Celtics allegedly thought those numbers meant.
And now. as fans process the trade’s price and its immediate basketball consequences. Windhorst’s report leaves one stubborn question hanging over Boston’s decision-making: if Brown was the team’s measurable engine—points. rebounds. assists. and All-NBA recognition—why did the Celtics reportedly believe Derrick White’s season was the better one?.
Jaylen Brown Celtics Derrick White Jayson Tatum 76ers Paul George trade NBA MVP voting Hoop Collective Brian Windhorst
So the Celtics traded Brown bc ESPN said White was better? ok.
I don’t get it… if Brown had MVP vibes and won all that stuff, why would they “not view him as best”? Seems like they just panicked after Tatum got hurt or something.
Wait reply to Mark but yeah I think this is one of those “defensive stats” things. Like if White defended better then that means Brown wasn’t the best? Idk. also the article says Tatum sidelined so who cares, Brown carried.
This sounds like Celtics PR vs reality. Like the whole “White offense doesn’t match” thing… but defensive cornerstone?? Isn’t that just what coaches say when they don’t wanna admit they messed up the MVP push? And Windhorst always seems to have inside scoop, but half the time he’s guessing too. Brown 28.7 points and 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists, that’s not “not best” lol. yet they trade him like right after.