The Boston Celtics were in dire straits ahead of the 2025-26 season. They traded away some of their stalwarts while Jayson Tatum was expected to miss the majority of the campaign after rupturing his Achilles tendon in the playoffs last season. So the onus was on Jaylen Brown to marshal this team to safer shores in what was termed a ‘gap year’. Brown, who was dealing with his own meniscus issues, was ready for the start of the season and led by example. However, his mother, Mechalle Brown, now sheds light on all the challenges that he had to conquer before guiding the Cs to the second seed in the East.

Brown shared the mental toll that the Celtics star faced during his recovery phase following his surgery to repair his meniscus tear. “In his mind, everything was taken away from him, meaning the team,” she told Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. “But what I kept saying to him was, ‘These guys are all already in the league, which means they can play ball. They have been drafted, so they are talented. You just have to lead them.”

Brown was too hard on himself, as his mother suggested that he sometimes needed to let his body rest. “That’s what men think,” she added, laughing. “You’re not weak. You’re just getting better after surgery. It’s just like a car. You have to go get maintenance to get better. So get your tune-up, get your maintenance, and come back even better and stronger.” Brown, in fact, isolated himself from everybody after telling his mother he didn’t want any company.

“He was strategizing,” she said. “He’s always needed space to think things through.” Brown’s isolation period lasted about six weeks. Before the season, it was widely assumed that the Celtics were Jayson Tatum’s team, with Brown playing second fiddle, but the 29-year-old has completely silenced his critics with a career year. With the absence of several critical stars, his usage increased, and he took full advantage of it. So much so that, despite their gap year, the Cs have more than 50 wins this season.

“I feel like when my back is against the wall and the world is against [me], that’s when you get the best version of me,” the Celtics star said. “That’s where you get the chance to see what you’re made of.” Brown has delivered a season in which he has consistently been in the MVP conversation, averaging 28.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game while shooting 47.6% from the field across 70 appearances.

Jaylen Brown reveals bizarre strategy he used to maximize the best out of his Celtics teammates

Although Jaylen Brown was a vital cog for the Boston Celtics in their championship-winning season and also won Finals MVP, the narrative that he is the number two for the Celtics persisted until this season. The 29-year-old revealed that he did a lot of reading and meditation to prepare himself for a leadership role. He also studied his teammates’ astronomical charts to better understand their mindsets. “If it only worked 10 percent, it’s worth it to me. I think it is a lot more effective than 10%, though,” Brown said. “I learned more about Chinese astrology. I learned more about numerology, life path numbers… I made a chart of all my teammates. I know it sounds weird, and it’s probably a little controversial because people have their beliefs. But the s— worked.”

In addition to Brown, the Celtics have had key contributions from Payton Pritchard and Derrick White, along with center Neemias Queta, long enough to see Tatum return ahead of the playoffs. The Cs definitely have a shot at making a deep run with how the team is playing right now. They’re only one win away, or a Knicks loss away, from locking their No. 2 seed and possessing home advantage. Who they could face in the first round is still uncertain, though. Just 2 games separate the fifth-place Raptors from the ninth-place Hornets.