Jaylen Brown named NBA All-Star reserve for third time in his career

BOSTON -- Jayson Tatum will not be alone at this year's NBA All-Star festivities. His Celtics teammate Jaylen Brown was named a 2023-24 NBA All-Star reserve on Thursday night.

This is the second straight All-Star nod for Brown and the third of his eight-year career. He's been electric on the floor for Boston this season, sending down a number of posterizing dunks and playing some excellent defense for the first-place Celtics.

Brown's numbers are down slightly from last season, but he's having the best overall season of his career. The swingman is averaging 22.6 points off a career-high 49 percent shooting from the floor and a solid 35 percent from downtown. He's also adding 4.3 rebounds, a career-best 3.7 assists, and 1.1 steals per game, and owns a 112.3 defensive rating for the season. His 1.6 assist-to-turnover is also the best of his career.

Brown has scored 30 or more points 10 times for the Celtics this season, including a 40-point night in a fairly controversial loss to the Pacers. He's also logged four double-doubles over his 45 games, plus a 13-point, 11-rebound, 10-assist triple-double in a win over the Rockets in Houston last month.

Unfortunately for Brown, his new buddy, Kristaps Porzingis, was not named one of the seven Eastern Conference reserves on Thursday night. Nor was Celtics guard Derrick White. But either could be an injury replacement should a spot open up on the roster.

Tatum won MVP honors at last season's NBA All-Star Game after scoring a record-55 points for Team Giannis, but Brown put on a show as well with 35 points and 14 rebounds for Team Durant. Now we'll see what Boston's star duo does in their follow-up in Indiana on Feb. 18.