Jaylen Brown’s superpower? Taking things personally

BOSTON — In theory, it seems extremely difficult to doubt Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown, given what he’s accomplished during his 10-year NBA career. The now five-time All-Star is an NBA champion, a Finals MVP, and has a great shot at an All-NBA First Team selection (and an outside shot at league MVP).

So, how does Brown stay motivated? The 29-year-old pays attention to what’s being said about him and uses it as fuel, no matter how big or small the slight is.

“I take everything personally, lowkey,” Brown said following a 102-94 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night. “I’m always looking for something.”

Jaylen Brown on if he took the preseason doubters personally:

“I take everything personal, lowkey.”

“I've sacrificed over the years in order for us to be a championship-caliber team. And I think now we're getting to see that a little bit, what exactly I was capable of.” pic.twitter.com/gm0ra6oUzU

— Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) January 27, 2026

This isn’t a unique approach in the basketball world. NBA legend Michael Jordan dug deep to find anything he could perceive as an insult to his game. In fact, he even fabricated some disses solely for the sake of generating motivation.

Brown has never had to dig as deep as “Air Jordan” to find doubters. They’re already on the surface, in plain sight for him to see on social media, especially ahead of the 2025-26 regular season.

With Celtics star Jayson Tatum sidelined indefinitely due to a ruptured Achilles, some wondered what the Green Team would look like with Brown at the helm. That curiosity devolved into severe doubt, as the Celtics parted ways with multiple key pieces in the offseason, including veteran guard Jrue Holiday.

Unlike many of the doubters out there, who suggested that the Celtics should tank for a lottery pick rather than try for wins, the Blazers guard believed in Brown and company. How incredibly adverse Brown is to losing was reason enough for Holiday to be convinced that his old team would shatter preseason expectations.

“I figured that they’d be good,” Holiday said in the visiting locker room on Monday. “And then obviously, knowing Jaylen, I feel like he takes a lot of things personally. So he doesn’t accept a lot, especially when it comes to being bad.”

Jrue Holiday on Jaylen Brown, and the rest of the Celtics, handling the doubt they faced this season personally:

“Obviously, knowing Jaylen I feel like he takes a lot of things personally, so he doesn't accept a lot, especially when it comes to being bad.” pic.twitter.com/jUV3pq7nmt

— Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) January 27, 2026

After Holiday’s pregame praise, Brown proceeded to record 20 points, a team-high eight rebounds, four assists, and a game-high four steals en route to the wire-to-wire win. Celtics point guard Payton Pritchard also added a game-high 23 points (on 50% shooting) and didn’t cough up the ball once in a game that featured a combined 35 turnovers.

“I think people counted them out as a team,” Holiday said of the Celtics. “Not just Jaylen. I know Payton, Joe (Mazzulla), the whole coaching staff, feel like when people say that they can’t do something, they want to prove them wrong.”

Pritchard, who’s always shared a similar underdog mentality with Brown, unsurprisingly confirmed Holiday’s comments in the locker room.

“I feel like it definitely motivated a lot of us,” he said when asked about the low preseason expectations placed on the C’s. “To hear people say this is going to be a gap year because we traded away a lot of players and JT being out…definitely was a motivation.”

How Jaylen Brown’s growth has helped Celtics prove doubters wrong

According to BetMGM’s preseason predictions, the Celtics should end up with around 41 wins at the end of the 2025-26 campaign. But, after beating the Blazers, the Celtics are 29-17 overall and need just 13 victories over the next 36 games to surpass that benchmark.

Perhaps Vegas’ greatest misstep in its projections was focusing too much on what the Celtics lost during the offseason instead of on what they gained. And while it didn’t feel like the C’s acquired a lot amidst a summer of salary dumping, they created a new, primary role for Brown, which ended up being their biggest boon.

As Boston’s go-to scorer, Brown is averaging nearly 30 points per game — a whopping three-point increase from his previous best — while shooting over 48% from the floor. He’s also averaging a career-high 4.9 assists per outing and enjoying his highest usage rate to date.

“I feel like I’ve sacrificed over the years in order for us to be a championship-caliber team,” Brown said candidly. “I think we’re getting to see what exactly I was capable of and what I was sacrificing. I think before maybe it wasn’t so obvious. I think being able to be at the helm of things, and us being the No. 2 seed in the East, versus last year where we finished as the No. 2 seed in the East, it’s almost been no drop-off with four or five players essentially gone.”

Although the Celtics have performed well heading into the All-Star break, they weren’t always this successful. They began the season with three straight losses, marking their worst start in over a decade.

When those defeats piled up, the doubters claimed an early victory. Brown remembered that after Boston was able to turn things around.

“We started off the season 0-3, we had all types of people posting all types of bull***t,” Brown said in December during one of his Twitch livestreams. “Tell them to post now…Tell them to keep that same energy.”

“We started off the season 0-3, they was posting all type of bullshit. Tell them to post now… keep that same energy.”

— Jaylen Brownpic.twitter.com/bUPecEXmVv

— jb (@lockedupjb) December 6, 2025

Clearly, Brown sees the outside noise. He doesn’t have to invent it like Jordan. It’s right there.

Whether it’s from not being named Eastern Conference Player of the Month or having his ability to lead a contender on his own questioned, Brown turns the doubt he faces into inspiration. But the star guard’s ultimate superpower might be his confidence in himself, which has remained steadfast through every trial and tribulation he’s encountered in his career.

“I’ve always believed in myself and believed that I was one of the best players in this league, and I got the opportunity to show it,” Brown said.

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