Late Sunday in Portland, Jaylen Brown utilized a screen from Niemias Keta to pull up for a 3-pointer from the top of the key. Before landing, he was forcefully knocked down by Donovan Clingan and sent flying to the free throw line. Brown quickly got up, made his first free throw, marking his ninth straight game scoring at least 30 points, tying Larry Bird’s Celtics record for most consecutive 30-point games.
Although the Celtics were defeated by the Trail Blazers, Brown had a strong performance with 37 points, seven rebounds, and four assists on 14-of-23 shooting, marking his 19th 30-point game this season—only MVP frontrunner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (23) has more. With Jayson Tatum sidelined indefinitely due to a torn Achilles tendon, Brown has assumed the lead role for Boston, posting career-best averages of 29.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 4.8 assists with shooting splits of 50.6% from the field, 37% from three, and 77.9% from the line. He ranks sixth in the league in scoring and has led the Celtics in scoring 24 out of 29 games this season.
Despite the loss of Tatum and offseason changes, Brown has nearly single-handedly prevented the Celtics from faltering this year. The team, currently third in the Eastern Conference with a 19-12 record, saw their four-game winning streak end with this defeat. Brown is on pace for his fifth All-Star selection and second All-NBA team nod, and if his performance continues, MVP consideration and first-team honors are realistic.
An interesting question is where Brown’s season ranks among Boston’s highest-scoring campaigns. Heading into their upcoming game against the Utah Jazz, Brown has the opportunity to make it ten straight games scoring 30 points, so it’s worth examining his place in Celtics history.
Scoring Average
Brown is positioned to become the fifth Celtics player to average at least 27 points in a season, joining Larry Bird, John Havlicek, Jayson Tatum, and Isiah Thomas. His current 29.7 points per game would rank third on the franchise’s single-season scoring list. Brown and Tatum are the only Celtics players to average 30 points, and Brown could soon surpass the franchise record of 30.1 points per game.
Percentage of Team Points
Brown has been the primary scoring force for the Celtics, with no other player averaging over 20 points and only Derrick White and Peyton Pritchard exceeding 15 points per game. Brown has scored 25.7% of the Celtics’ points in games he’s played this season and 23.8% overall, despite missing two games. Paul Pierce holds the franchise record for scoring the highest percentage of team points in a season, with 27.1% in 2002. The Celtics’ scoring average today is higher than in Pierce’s era, which affects these percentages.
Efficiency
Brown’s combination of volume and efficiency is remarkable. He is posting career-best figures in shot attempts (21.5 per game), field goal percentage (50.6%), and shooting percentage (59.8%). Among Celtics players averaging at least 27 points per game in a season, Brown ranks fourth in field goal percentage and fifth in shooting percentage, with the highest usage rate at 36.2%.
High-Scoring Games
Brown has scored 30 points or more in 19 games this season and has three 40-point games, surpassing his previous career highs. Jayson Tatum holds the Celtics record with 42 games of 30+ points in a season, and Brown is on pace to challenge that. Tatum and Larry Bird share the record for most 40-point games in a season with 11 each, and Brown could join that elite group with continued performance. Brown’s career high is 50 points, though he hasn’t reached that mark this season. The franchise single-game scoring record is 60 points by Bird and Tatum.
League Comparison
Brown currently ranks sixth in the NBA with 29.7 points per game. Historically, Celtics players have finished in the top six scoring in the league 29 times. While no Celtics player has been the league’s top scorer, Larry Bird, John Havlicek, and Bob Cousy have finished second, and Isiah Thomas, Paul Pierce, and Ed McCauley have finished third. Brown is within striking distance of third-place Tyrese Maxey’s 30.7 points per game but is behind Luka Doncic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
How Brown Measures Up
Comparing players across different eras of basketball is always tricky. The 3-point line did not exist during Havlicek’s time and was underutilized in Bird’s era. Bird was a legendary shooter but averaged just three made threes per game during his peak scoring season, whereas Brown averages 5.6 points from threes now. Paul Pierce played in a slower, less offensively focused era, which impacted his scoring volume. Isiah Thomas had a historic season in 2016-17, averaging 28.9 points and holding the record for most points in a season by a player under six feet tall.
Looking at the averages of the top five highest-scoring Celtics seasons, Brown ranks third in scoring average, ninth in team points percentage, and fifth in efficiency. Ultimately, personal preference influences how one ranks these great scoring seasons, but Brown’s current campaign unquestionably ranks among the most impressive in Celtics history.
Fan Take: Jaylen Brown’s scorched-earth season demonstrates his evolution into one of the NBA’s elite offensive players, especially stepping up in the absence of Jayson Tatum. For basketball fans, his electrifying performance signals a new era of Celtics greatness and adds excitement to the MVP race and the sport’s growing emphasis on versatile, high-efficiency scorers.
