Boston Celtics
“The statistics that people use to analyze said that.”
According to Brian Windhorst, the Celtics thought Derrick White had a better season than Jaylen Brown in 2025-26. AP Photo/Charles Krupa
July 2, 2026 | 5:09 PM
2 minutes to read
Jaylen Brown’s numbers spoke for themselves last season.
With Jayson Tatum sidelined for a majority of the year while rehabbing back from a ruptured Achilles tendon, Brown took over as Boston’s leader and top scoring option.
Amid fears that the 2025-26 campaign would be a bridge year for Boston, Brown helped lead the Celtics to the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference with a 56-26 record.
Brown in particular took another step forward, setting career highs in points (28.7), rebounds (6.9), and assists (5.1). He earned Second Team All-NBA honors and finished sixth in NBA MVP voting.
But, even with his impressive play in what ultimately was his final season in Boston, was Brown viewed by his own team as their top option?
ESPN NBA reporter Brian Windhorst — speaking on the “Hoop Collective” — shared an interesting note on how Boston reportedly perceived Brown ahead of Wednesday’s shocking trade with the 76ers.
“I just know that the Celtics felt that even though Jaylen Brown was talking about himself for MVP, or there was this MVP campaign for Jaylen Brown, the Celtics did not feel that Jaylen had the best season on their team — and I don’t mean Jayson Tatum,” Windhorst said. “They felt that Derrick White had a better season. The statistics that people use to analyze said that.”
It’s an interesting take, given that a lineup stalwart in White largely regressed on offense throughout this past year.
White averaged 16.5 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 5.4 assists over 34.1 minutes per game last season, earning NBA All-Defensive First Team honors along the way.
But White only shot 39.4 percent from the field, while his trade 3-point shooting also tanked down to 32.7 percent. White’s offensive woes were magnified in Boston’s first-round exit against Philadelphia, as he only shot 27.3 percent from 3-point range over the seven-game series.
Brown’s value — both with the Celtics and across the NBA — has been put under a microscope in the last few weeks, with Boston ultimately dealing the star wing to the Sixers in exchange for 36-year-old Paul George, two first-round picks, and two second-round picks.
Days before he was traded by Boston, Brown took to X to call out NBA insider and former Nets assistant GM Bobby Marks — who noted on Sirius XM that Brown wasn’t rated that high by certain analytic models.
“There’s mixed feelings about [Brown],” Marks said. “The analytics on Jaylen Brown is not good … I had an analytics guy tell me, ‘we view Brown as the seventh-best player on an NBA team’.”
“Analytics nowadays used to discredit and control narratives,” Brown responded on X. “Roll the ball out, none of these guys better than me on both ends.
“Nobody has won more combined regular season and playoff games since I entered the league 10 years ago,” he added. “Analytics are ruining the game. We playing AI hoops.”
Analytics nowadays used to discredit and control narratives – Roll the ball out none of these guys better than me on both ends who does he work for https://t.co/ql3skXAutM
— Jaylen Brown (@FCHWPO) June 27, 2026
Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.
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