Imago
Image Credits: Imagn
Imago
Image Credits: Imagn
The Boston Celtics have been one of the biggest surprises of the season. Over the offseason, the team dismantled its 2024 championship team after a devastating Achilles injury to Jayson Tatum, and everyone expected the team to fall to mediocrity. However, Jaylen Brown changed everything.
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Brown has been having a career year, helping lead the Celtics to the #3 seed in the East, and has earned recognition from around the league. However, despite an amazing December, Brown wasn’t one of the Players of the Month; the NBA selected Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Brunson.
“SMH,” read Brown‘s post, quoting the announcement, clearly upset at being snubbed. Later, during one of his live streams, he elaborated.
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“I’m not going to say too much, but I’m going to be honest,” he told viewers. “No disrespect, no diss to one of those guys, Shai or Brunson. Neither one of them had a better month than I had. But it’s all good.”
Jaylen Brown:
“No disrespect, no diss to Shai or Brunson. But neither one of them had a better month than I had.” 👀🍿
(via @lockedupjb)pic.twitter.com/yDVdS4dIkC
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) January 3, 2026
He made it clear that his frustration wasn’t with the players, calling both guards “great players” before drawing a clear line: none of them outperformed him in the month of December. And Brown has a solid case.
Brown has been Boston‘s clear leader and most reliable two-way option as he continues to score efficiently and anchor the team during various key stretches.
In December, he led the team to a 7-3 record, missing two other games, while averaging a staggering 31.7 points per game, 5.4 assists, 6.5 rebounds, and 1.2 steals.
His play has made a playoff run a genuine possibility for Boston this season, which many saw as a gap year without their best player last season.
Now, with Tatum recovering well and Boston maintaining home-court advantage with a top-4 seed, the Celtics might be a dark horse candidate to make it out of the Eastern Conference.
How Did Jaylen Brown Compare to Jalen Brunson and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander?
Here’s the issue. Despite Jaylen Brown having a clear case for the Player of the Month, it’s easy to see why Brunson and Gilgeous-Alexander were taken over him.
The Oklahoma City Thunder and the New York Knicks are both the top-seeded teams in their conferences, and both guards have put up amazing stats.
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Dec 4, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) dunks and scores against the Detroit Pistons during the fourth quarter at the TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images
SGA led his team to an 8-4 record, missing one game, and matched Brown in scoring, averaging about 31.4 points per game, while beating him with 6.1 assists and 1.7 steals, as well as much higher efficiency, while playing fewer minutes.
Of course, this comparison doesn’t really make sense, because even if Brown’s stats were better, he wouldn’t be able to win the Western Conference POTM award.
In the East, Brunson had some of the best team achievements of the three. He led his team to a 10-3 record, missing only one game, while averaging 30.6 points on solid efficiency and 7.1 assists.
One key factor to consider here is also the fact that Brunson managed to lead the Knicks to the NBA Cup championship, which has to hold a lot of weight.
In any case, Brown still managed to win two Player of the Week awards in December, and if he keeps up his production, he should be a leading candidate for a POTM going forward.
Written by
Edited by
Tanay Sahai