Jaylen Brown says one of the hardest things he’s endured in his basketball career was watching as his team played without him in the playoffs.
The Boston Celtics wing, amid his first All-Star campaign, had his season end early due to a torn scapholunate ligament in his left wrist that required surgery. Now, he says his wrist is healing and he’s hopeful to be back by training camp.
He’s also working on his facilitating and getting back to the signature athleticism he had before dealing with a lingering knee issue.
“Mostly just trying to heal, and playmaking is one thing,” Brown told The Undefeated’s Marc J. Spears.
“I’ll definitely be more of a playmaker this season, for sure. Just making the right plays and empowering my teammates. I just want to win games, man. So, every year I just approach the season as just trying to get better. My body feels a lot better. I’m more athletic than I was last season. I had knee problems last year that were lingering and I hope that I won’t have this season. Somebody told me I had 12, probably like, 15 dunks in 58 games, or something like that. I’m like, ‘That’s not me.’ So, getting back to being athletic, running, just going having fun, being a playmaker, and having more responsibility. Different coach, so I’m looking forward to that journey and that process as well.”
The 24-year-old averaged a career-high 24.7 points and 3.4 assists per game last year, so he already was trending in the right direction.
Hopefully he’s ready to pick up where he left off when training camp begins on Sept. 28.
