Celtics teammates aren't happy over Jaylen Brown's All-NBA snub

BOSTON -- Jaylen Brown did not make an All-NBA or All-Defensive team this year, and his Celtics teammates aren't too happy with the double snub. 

Brown was named to the All-NBA Second Team last season, which opened the door for him to sign the richest contract in league history. While his numbers dipped slightly in 2023-24 due to all the star power on the Boston roster, Brown had the most efficient -- and best overall -- season of his eight-year career.

With the additions of Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday, plus the continued emergence of Derrick White, Brown averaged 23 points per game -- down from his career-high of 26.6 points per game last season. But he shot 49.9 percent from the floor to go along with 3.6 assists, both of which were career-bests for Brown. He also stepped up big on the defensive end, usually going against the opposition's best player. Brown was a big reason the Celtics had the NBA's second-best defense during the regular season.

Yet when it came time to hand out All-Defensive honors, Brown didn't make any of the teams. And when the All-NBA teams were announced Wednesday night, Brown fell 20 points short of Third Team honors. Instead, Steph Curry, Devin Booker, Tyrese Haliburton, LeBron James, and Domatas Sabonis made the third team.

Holiday and White earned much-deserved All-Defensive Second Team nods, while Jayson Tatum was the lone Celtics player to earn a spot on an All-NBA team, claiming a spot on the First Team. If you think it's a bit strange that the best team in the NBA, one that won 64 games, only had a single All-NBA player in the eyes of the league, Celtics players agree.

On Thursday, after the team's shootaround ahead of Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Indiana Pacers, Payton Pritchard made it clear that he believes Brown got snubbed.

"JB, that was a snub, for sure," the backup guard said Thursday. "I don't understand how you can be the No. 1 team by a wide margin and only have one dude on that. JB has been terrific all year. Two-way player. He deserved to be on there."

Brown missed out on a $2.2 million bonus for not making an All-NBA team this season. But that wasn't the only snub in the eyes of his teammates. On Wednesday, while chatting about his All-Defensive honor, White said that Brown should have made a team along with him and Holiday.

"First off, JB definitely deserves it. He was unreal this whole season taking on that challenge," White said. "Whenever there was a big name or a big player, he wanted the challenge. He kind of set the tone for us the whole season and I think he definitely was deserving." 

Brown not making an All-Defensive team is an even bigger snub than him not making an All-NBA team. But this isn't anything new for Brown, who always seems to be an afterthought in the eyes of the league, whether it's year-end awards or All-Star nods. (At least he's made the All-Star squad the last two seasons. And that massive contract probably makes him feel a little better about these snubs)

Winning a championship will be the ultimate prize for Brown and the Celtics. As always, Brown will just go out and let his play do the talking.