Jaylen Brown earns Player of the Month honors for the first time in his career

Jaylen Brown has earned Eastern Conference Player of the Month honors for January, the NBA announced Tuesday afternoon.

Winning the award for the first time in his professional career, Brown averaged 29.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game -- which included a 50-point performance against the Los Angeles Clippers and a 40-point outing against the Atlanta Hawks in his hometown, while the Celtics went 10-6 for the month of January.

Brown shot 44% from the field and 33% from 3-point range, which was a slight dip in efficiency from last month when he was openly frustrated when he didn't win Player of the Month for December, the now five-time All-Star averaged 31.7 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 5.4 assists on 53.8% shooting, with the Celtics finishing with a 9-3 record.

It was New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson who won the award instead, after putting up 30.6 points and 7.1 assists per game on their way to a 10-4 record and of course the NBA Cup trophy.

"I hope he takes it out on our opponents for the next month," Joe Mazzulla told reporters just prior to Brown tying a career-high 50 points against the Clippers on January 3rd. "He's always had something to prove. That's something that he carries with him."

It seems like the NBA got it right this time depending how you look at things, as Brown is definitely in league MVP conversations with averages of 29.4 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 4.8 assists -- all career-highs -- while shooting 48.5% from the field and 36.2% from behind the 3-point arc for the season.

Meanwhile, the Celtics are 32-18 (currently tied for the second-best record in the Eastern Conference with the Knicks) without Jayson Tatum -- who continues to recover from a torn Achilles.

Brown now joins Larry Bird (7), Tatum (5), Paul Pierce (4), Isaiah Thomas (1) and Antoine Walker (1), as the only players in franchise history to take home Player of the Month honors.

2026 NBA All-Star team rosters have been set

Jaylen Brown was voted to his fifth All-Star game and first as a starter last month, as he was officially selected as part of the USA Stripes team, the league announced its three set rosters Tuesday night.

The Celtics wing will be teammates with Jalen Brunson, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Donovan Mitchell and Norman Powell.

USA Stars, USA Stripes and Team World will compete in a round-robin mini-tournament with four 12-minute games.

The 75th NBA All-Star Game will be broadcasted on NBC and Peacock Sunday, February 15 at 5:00 pm ET.

 

Joel Pavón

Follow @Joe1_CSP



Photo used courtesy of NBC Sports