Jaylen Brown is making durability a priority this season.
Brown, who missed 19 games with knee, hip, ankle and shoulder injuries in 2024-25, said Wednesday that he wants to be on the floor as much as possible for the ’25-26 Celtics.
“Health is key,” Brown said after leading Boston to a 136-107 rout of the Washington Wizards at TD Garden. “You see a lot of guys getting injured, going around the league, and sitting out games. I want to play as many games as I possibly can.”
In addition to his high number of DNPs, which rendered him ineligible for postseason awards, Brown was limited for several months last spring by a partially torn meniscus that required offseason surgery. The Celtics star has not been injury-free this fall — he strained his hamstring in Boston’s preseason finale on Oct. 15 — but he’s started each of the team’s first nine games and is averaging 31.1 minutes per night.
“I had some injuries last year that kind of derailed me towards the end of the season, so health was a big emphasis going into the year,” Brown said. “And then, (at) the start of the season, end of the preseason, I had a hamstring strain. Not ideal, but the medical staff, we managed it well, and I think I’m getting over the hump.”
The Celtics are relying on Brown to be their centerpiece while longtime co-star Jayson Tatum recovers from Achilles surgery, and so far, he’s met that challenge.
The 10th-year pro has topped 30 points in five of his nine appearances, including four of his last five, and entered Thursday ranked ninth in the NBA in scoring (27.7 points per game). He’s been highly efficient, too, posting field-goal, 3-point and free-throw shooting percentages (53.5%, 38.9% and 78.6%, respectively) that are well above his career averages.
Last season, Brown shot 46.3% from the field, 32.4% from three and 76.4% from the line as he battled his various ailments. Now healthier, he’s improved his outside shot, is finishing an eye-popping 91.7% of his attempts at the rim, per Basketball-Reference, and is drawing fouls at a much higher rate.
As of Thursday, Brown was one of six NBA players averaging at least 27 points, four rebounds and four assists per game this season, joining Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Tyrese Maxey and Austin Reaves.
“(It’s) definitely a big difference,” said Brown, who scored 35 on 13-of-21 shooting against Washington before sitting out the fourth quarter. “Not just JT being out, but Al (Horford) being gone, Luke (Kornet), Jrue (Holiday) and (Kristaps) Porzingis. Obviously, those are some really good players that we lost, so all of those guys being missing makes a big difference. For me, I’m just being aggressive and trying to empower my teammates as much as possible.”