LAS VEGAS — It’s been quite the summer for Jaylen Brown. Dating back to the end of May, it seems as though every trophy imaginable has ended up in his hands. From the Larry Bird Eastern Conference finals MVP to the NBA Bill Russell Finals MVP to the Larry O’Brien to an ESPY for best championship performance. Everything has been coming up Brown.
And while he’s still enjoying every championship second possible, that bliss can only last so long.
“Definitely still riding the high,” Brown said at the Boston Celtics’ Summer League game against the Los Angeles Lakers. “It’s been a great summer. That feeling of finally getting over that hump is great. But now, it’s kind of coming to an end. It’s like everybody’s starting back at ground zero. So, it’s almost forgotten about, and now, we just got to build from Day 1 again.”
Earlier in the summer, Jayson Tatum spoke about the weight of winning a title being off his shoulders. That feeling is shared by his co-star, but again, next season is fully in sight.
“Yes, I do,” Brown said when asked if he felt the same. “But right when that burden gets alleviated, you get more motivation to follow it. So, for me, it’s back to ground one. My mindset is almost like, championship is over now, and now we got to get back to work.”
Brown and Tatum led the Celtics to their first championship in 16 years in June, but now, 18 has come and gone. Banner 19 is the new goal. And everything Boston has done this summer has set themselves up for said quest.
Tatum and Derrick White both inked lucrative extensions that will keep them wearing green for years to come, and Jrue Holiday got his new deal done right before the 2024 playoffs. Brown and Kristaps Porzingis signed extensions last offseason, and Horford is still riding out a new contract he signed in December of 2022.
But Boston’s commitment to keeping their core intact goes well beyond the top six.
The Celtics re-signed Neemias Queta, Luke Kornet, and Xavier Tillman to new contracts this summer. They also brought back JD Davison and Drew Peterson on new two-way contracts. In total, 15 of the 17 players who ended last year with Boston will be back again next season.
Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images
Brown said the rest of his summer will be spent reaching out to teammates, working out, and preparing to run it back next…
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