Jaylen Brown felt snubbed last year when he wasn't selected to the NBA's All-Star Game, as his tremendous growth was slightly overshadowed by that of his teammate Jayson Tatum.
But Brown's rise is impossible to ignore this season, on and off the court, as he's been playing with that chip on his shoulder in all 20 games he's started in for the Celtics so far.
The 24-year-old wing is averaging 26.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game while shooting 51.8% from the field and 42.4% from deep, and has been evolving his game towards that of a complete player.
Boston was without Brown against the Los Angeles Clippers, but Brad Stevens spoke about his progression on Friday ahead of the game.
"First of all, if there were 12 All-Stars, he might have been 13th last year so it's not like he wasn't playing great at this time last year," Stevens said. "It's just another year of growth and hard work, and then on top of that, there's just more opportunity too. And I think when you add those things together, with his level of commitment, with his level of growth, the fact that we are running more through him and Jayson both at the 32-33 percent usage rate, you know -- there's great opportunity for those guys and they've taken advantage of it. They've done a good job with that."
It's true. At this point, Brown almost is automatic knocking down shots, especially from mid-range. And he's grown a lot as a passer, too.
His coach sees what goes into that.
"One thing I don't ever want to take for granted is that guys will grow, guys will improve, because not everybody does and it's not always linear," Stevens said. "But Jaylen has so I think that he deserves a lot of credit for putting himself in that mix but he's been in that mix."
Fan voting for this year's group of All-Stars began Jan. 28 and runs through Feb. 16. Fan balloting comprises 50% of the votes for NBA All-Star starters, while active players and a selected media panel each will account for 25%.
The NBA reportedly hopes to stage the All-Star Game March 7 in Atlanta, but not everyone is down for that.
