Jaylen Brown has provided rare insight into how leadership functioned within the Boston Celtics during their 2024–25 campaign.
In a recent interview on The Big Tigger Morning Show with Jazzy McBee, Brown addressed the long-running question about who leads the team between him and Jayson Tatum. He explained that both stars brought different qualities to the locker room and to the floor.
“Yeah, we definitely—we had leadership amongst a bunch of different guys in different ways,” Brown said, via HoopsHype. “I would say I was more of a vocal leader for our team. And JT more led by example. He just come out every night, you know what I mean?”
The statement sheds light on a dynamic that has fueled debate in Boston for years. Brown pointed out that veteran players also contributed, creating a shared leadership model that helped carry the franchise to its NBA-record 18th championship in 2024.
The 2024–25 season, however, ended in disappointment. Despite entering as defending champions and clinching their 11th straight playoff berth in March, the Celtics were eliminated in the second round by the New York Knicks. Tatum’s Achilles injury during the series left Boston unable to defend its title.
Brown, a four-time All-Star, averaged 22.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 4.5 assists across 63 regular-season games. He maintained strong production in the postseason, posting 22.1 points and 7.1 rebounds per contest over 11 games.
Tatum, meanwhile, logged 26.8 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 6.0 assists per game in the regular season. He raised his output to 28.1 points in the playoffs before being sidelined.
Brown stressed that leadership was not about labels but about presence. “Leadership looks different, and people gravitate to different types of leadership,” he said. “Setting the tone every single night, hearing somebody’s voice, hearing somebody speaking life into you, letting them know that they with you—all this type of stuff is like, you know, kind of what people relied on me for.”
The remarks arrive as Boston prepares for a transitional offseason. Under new ownership led by Bill Chisholm, the Celtics will enter the 2025–26 season without a Christmas Day game for the first time in a decade. The team added Hugo González and Noah Penda through the draft to bolster its roster.
