Jaylen Brown has made it clear that being named an All-Star just isn’t a precedence to him. Last month, the Celtics star mentioned he stopped taking note of voting a very long time in the past, and expressed some displeasure with the method.
The morning after Brown formally grew to become an All-Star for the second time in his profession – chosen as one in all seven Eastern Conference reserves – that tune didn’t change. He had a fast joke when requested the way it felt.
“It feels great. It’s the best day of my life,” Brown mentioned with a straight face, earlier than cracking a smile to disclose he was being sarcastic.
Brown wasn’t the primary Celtic to pour chilly water on their All-Star recognition. On Tuesday, the day after he was named an All-Star Game head coach, Joe Mazzulla mentioned it meant nothing to him personally, however acknowledged the work his teaching employees and gamers have achieved to earn the nod and that the expertise might be nice for his household.
The Celtics have greater targets in thoughts.
“We just got more important things to worry about,” Brown mentioned. “I don’t want to sound ungrateful. I think it is a tremendous honor to be recognized amongst the best. But there’s a lot of great players that are in our league as well. Determining factors in voting process, politics. I’m grateful, but at the same time, there’s a lot more important things to worry about.”
“From a mental standpoint, I’ve kind of just gotten (in) a habit of not letting others determine my value. People give you accolades, or people criticize you, but I kind of try to stay the same. I’ve kind of got a habit of that. So forgive me if I’m not showing my excitement, but I’m extremely grateful.”
Brown, who made the All-Star staff for the primary time in 2021, was snubbed final season. He insisted then that it wasn’t disappointing to be left off. But he’s come again stronger. Brown was a giant purpose why the Celtics superior to the NBA Finals, and was their greatest participant throughout the loss to the Warriors.
Then, after a self-described humbling summer time of exhausting work, Brown is producing a career-year for the first-place C’s. He entered Friday averaging a career-best 27.0 factors per recreation, and has cemented himself as a star within the league. He got here up simply in need of being an All-Star starter and was a lock to be a reserve.
But that snub final season didn’t appear to inspire him – or no less than, he hasn’t expressed that publicly. Brown has mentioned a number of occasions this season that he appears like he’s among the many greatest gamers within the league. He doesn’t really feel like he must be named an All-Star to show that.
“The goal is every year to come out and perform the best I can possibly be and help my team win games,” Brown mentioned. “Whatever happens in the midst of that, I can live with. I feel like this year, I’ve helped my team be in a position to be the No. 1 seed. I feel like I’ve performed to a level, I’ve been injury-free. I’ve been able to have career-highs in certain categories, so it definitely makes sense. I think when I’m performing at my best and I’m getting better and better every single year, that’s the accolade that I appreciate the most. Anything else that comes with that is fine.”
Brown mentioned it was after his fourth season within the league when he skilled a psychological shift in how he felt about his standing and the way he was seen by others. There wasn’t a particular second that prompted a change, however that taking part in in Boston has taught him to not get too invested within the highs and lows of the game.
“It’s all about the next day,” Brown mentioned. “The different day, I missed two free throws to assist my staff win a recreation, it’s all concerning the subsequent day. So when it was All-Star at this time, it’s all concerning the subsequent day. …
“Playing in Boston, there’s an excellence demanded of you every single day. So you’ve got no time to be down or low; you’ve got to focus on what’s next. And because of the fan base here and how involved they are, how aggressive they are, you’ve got to be able to have tough skin. And it’s not for everybody. You’ve seen some people come here and struggle with that. For me, for my own sanity, I just had to be able to move forward, take the good times and the bad times and just roll on. So that’s kind of the mindset I’ll always have.”
Odds & ends
With the commerce deadline looming on Thursday, it’s unsure if the Celtics will make a transfer to bolster their roster for the remainder of the season and playoff run. How concerned is Mazzulla in discussions with president of basketball operations Brad Stevens about potential strikes? Mazzulla didn’t provide a lot when requested concerning the relationship he’s constructed with Stevens on these issues.
“I’m the interim head coach, he’s the general manager,” Mazzulla mentioned. “That’s the relationship that we have.” …
Marcus Smart missed his sixth consecutive recreation on Friday with a proper ankle sprain. Earlier this week, the purpose guard mentioned he and the Celtics have been weighing the opportunity of him resting by the All-Star break, however Mazzulla didn’t have an replace on that call but. …
Suns guard Devin Booker missed his twentieth consecutive recreation on Friday resulting from a groin harm.
Source: www.bostonherald.com