logo
Is Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown a top-20 player in the NBA?

Is Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown a top-20 player in the NBA?

USA Today5 days ago
Jaylen Brown will head into the 2025-26 NBA season with the pressure of leading a franchise on his shoulders. With Jayson Tatum likely out for the season with an Achilles tendon injury, Brown will be the Boston Celtics' star player and will be expected to carry a heavy load on both sides of the ball.
Joe Mazzulla will likely change some of his offensive and defensive approaches. Brown is at his best when pressuring the rim or working out of the mid-range. Therefore, we may see a slight shift in how many threes the Celtics take, especially if Brown is going to lead the team in shot attempts, although his drive and kick playmaking should ensure there's a healthy diet of catch-and-shoot threes. It's likely that his point-of-attack defense will also be a factor in how the Celtics look to thrive on the defensive side of the floor.
Heading into the season, Brown will likely be viewed as a top-20 to top-25 player in the NBA. The hope is that he will end the campaign as a top-15 candidate. In a recent episode of the "Hoops Tonight" podcast, Jason Timpf continued his NBA player rankings, putting Brown at 21, which was two spots ahead of Bam Adebayo of the Miami Heat and one spot ahead of Evan Mobley from the Cleveland Cavaliers.
You can hear Timpf's full reasoning for Brown being ranked at 21 by clicking on the embedded video above.
Watch or listen to the "Taylor Talks Celtics" podcast on:
YouTube: https://bit.ly/3QnlPcS
Spotify: https://bit.ly/40JRevf
Apple: https://apple.co/45sAUBG
Substack: https://bit.ly/3WoA0Cf
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

What should the Nets focus on heading into the 2025-26 NBA season?
What should the Nets focus on heading into the 2025-26 NBA season?

USA Today

time22 minutes ago

  • USA Today

What should the Nets focus on heading into the 2025-26 NBA season?

The Brooklyn Nets finished the 2024-25 NBA season with a 26-56 record, ultimately getting them the eighth overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft to begin their latest rebuild. Brooklyn broke the league record by taking five players in the Draft and it seems that the foundation is being laid down. Pundits believe that the Nets should remain focused on the rebuild. ESPN's Tim Bontemps and Kevin Pelton put together a list of which each team in the NBA should be "all-in" on ahead of the 2025-26 season and the Nets were put into the "draft positioning" category. Brooklyn isn't the only team in the tier as they share the category with the Charlotte Hornets, Utah Jazz, and Washington Wizards as all of the teams are understandably focused on the future. "These were four of the NBA's bottom six teams in the standings last season, and they have the four lowest over/under totals for the 2025-26 season at ESPN BET," the ESPN duo wrote when describing why each team was in the category. "Still, all of these teams are probably at least a season away from competing for a playoff spot, and they'd love to add another top pick first." As this relates to the Nets, this statement rings true in the sense that Brooklyn does not yet have a player on the roster that is currently considered to be an All-Star at some point in their career. The Nets will enter the 2025-26 season as one of the youngest teams in the league due to the amount of youth on the roster, but the hope is that guard Egor Demin, who was taken eighth overall by Brooklyn, can realize his potential sooner rather than later. As of this writing, BetMGM gives the Nets an over/under of 20.5 wins over the course of the 2025-26 regular season, meaning that the Las Vegas betting market could be expecting another tough season for Brooklyn. With the 2026 NBA Draft expected to boast premium talent such as AJ Dybantsa and Darryn Peterson, the Nets could be best served to keep the future in the forefront of their mind.

Pablo Torre's hit podcast signed a fascinating new licensing deal
Pablo Torre's hit podcast signed a fascinating new licensing deal

USA Today

timean hour ago

  • USA Today

Pablo Torre's hit podcast signed a fascinating new licensing deal

The sports media world received a particularly interesting update about the future of the hit podcast Pablo Torre Finds Out on Tuesday morning. Torre's unique form of investigative journalism has uncovered remarkable findings about football coach Bill Belichick (which led to a feud with Bill Simmons), a messy gambling ring in the NBA, scandals surrounding the NFLPA, who actually posts on social media for Magic Johnson, and plenty more. He began the show, which is produced by Meadowlark Media, in 2023. It was recently named by TIME as one of the 100 best podcasts ever. Meadlowlark Media will continue to produce the show, which departed from DraftKings Network earlier this summer. Pablo Torre Finds Out was briefly independent and sought a licensing partner before recently agreeing to terms with New York Times and The Athletic. Here are additional details about Torre's agreement with The Athletic (via Bloomberg): The New York Times Co.'s Athletic sports-media brand has signed two new podcast licensing deals, including one for Pablo Torre Finds Out, in a bid to expand its subscriber base. The agreement with Torre, a former on-air correspondent for ESPN, is in the seven figures, according to a person familiar with the details, who asked not to be named discussing information that's not public. Additionally, the Athletic signed a deal for the independent podcast Sports Gossip Show. 'This is the single best way for us to go out and reach millions of more sports fans,' said Sebastian Tomich, chief commercial and development officer at the Athletic, in an interview. 'Absent us unlocking many millions in a giant brand campaign, developing new shows and series like that with Pablo is the best way.' Dan Le Batard, co-founder of the network that produces Torre's podcast, posted on social media about the news. This is part of what he said in the video: "We were all able to create the future of sports journalism, the future of sports podcasting ... All parties involved what used to be HBO's Real Sports, what used to be Outside the Lines, real traditional sports journalism." The Athletic also agreed to a licensing deal with Sports Gossip Show, which is hosted by Madeline Hill and former For The Win staff writer Charlotte Wilder.

What Luka Dončić's $165M means, plus grading NBA team offseasons
What Luka Dončić's $165M means, plus grading NBA team offseasons

New York Times

time2 hours ago

  • New York Times

What Luka Dončić's $165M means, plus grading NBA team offseasons

The Bounce Newsletter | This is The Athletic's daily NBA newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Bounce directly in your inbox. I'm writing today's edition from my laptop in the middle of the Green Park in London. Imagine if you told people 100 years ago that we could send out The Bounce over the internet to people all over the world. Their first question would be: 'What's The Bounce?' And you could tell them: 'You fool! It's a free NBA newsletter from The Athletic, and you can subscribe so easily.' Technology! Dončić signs 3-year, $165 million extension 'Is Luka Dončić going to sign the extension with the Lakers?' It was a question, but it was also mostly a formality. While some doubts can be spun into justifying absurd trade ideas in Dallas, when it came to the question of whether Dončić was going to sign his extension, it never felt like there was a real possibility of him leaving the franchise. The 26-year-old had a player option for next season, but declining that would have made him an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2026. Advertisement Instead of waiting for next summer and opting for a longer, possibly more lucrative contract over those next four years, Luka did what's best, both for the Lakers in the interim — and in the long term for his earning potential. He agreed to a three-year extension worth as much as $165 million. It's probably more like a two-year extension, though. There is a player option for the 2028-29 season at $57.5 million, which sounds like a lot. Because it is. I would suspect he declines that option. Why? In the summer of 2028, he'll be 10 years into his career, which makes him eligible for a five-year contract worth at least projected $400 million. I'll say it if nobody else will: That is a significant amount of money. He'll be 29 years old at that point, so it's not like they're giving that money to an older player. He'll likely be in his prime, which is eye-popping to consider about someone who has averaged 30 points, 8.8 rebounds and 8.7 assists with 47.4/35.3/75.7 shooting splits since his rookie season. The Lakers are also set up to put players around Dončić. These are the other players they have signed through each season past this one: Assuming they reach a deal with Reaves when he declines his player option in 2026, the Lakers will have quite a bit of roster flexibility. If Ayton works out for them as their long-lost big man, then he probably opts out of that contract next summer, but gets something a bit more lucrative as he keeps proving himself. And, of course, we have no idea what this means for LeBron James. Lakers executive Rob Pelinka mentioned it would be 'great' if LeBron retires a Laker, but what does that mean about his free agency next summer? Or anything potentially happening before the February trade deadline? Do the Lakers still want to pay him the max during whatever short time he has left in the NBA? Can you imagine him taking a discount? A lot of questions about the Lakers remain, but the Luka one has been answered. RFA, revisited 🏀 Does it work? Restricted free agency doesn't seem to work for players anymore. But did it ever? 🃏 Always joking. Gilbert Arenas is under some serious allegations of running an illegal gambling business. ICYMI: Who is Gil, and why is he always joking? 🏀 Dame's back. Damian Lillard is now one of several NBA players to take on a college role. GM at his alma mater, Weber State. 🏀 This is fun. A familiar game has a pretty fun national competition. Welcome to Pop-A-Shot! 🎧 'NBA Daily.' Zena and Es are joined by Amick to discuss trade rumors around the NBA. Watch on YouTube. Fox agrees to a big extension with the Spurs When the Spurs came upon some draft lottery luck and found themselves with the No. 2 pick in this year's draft, it was pretty obvious right away that lead guard Dylan Harper out of Rutgers would be the selection. Sure enough, that's whom the Spurs took, and it at least made some people raise an eyebrow about what that meant for De'Aaron Fox and his future in San Antonio. Advertisement The franchise has Stephon Castle, the reigning Rookie of the Year. He's a very good playmaker, and while he's definitely more of a wing or an off-guard, he fancies himself a point guard in the NBA. Harper, one of the top prospects in the draft, showed a lot of the reasons why so many people believe in him during his Summer League exploits. He looks like the real deal, and the promise of him and Victor Wembanyama together in the future is a lot of fun. Fox is an All-NBA point guard the Spurs traded for last season. But fear not about his future in San Antonio. The Spurs agreed to a four-year, $229 million extension that will keep him in San Antonio through the 2029-30 season. It's a lot of the cap for a guy they might have a replacement for already, but Wemby is on his rookie deal for two more years, Castle for three and Harper is just beginning his. The Spurs have time to pay Fox until they have to make decisions down the road on how to manage the cap under the second apron. Or if we want to get really spicy and raise some eyebrows, maybe in a year or two, the Spurs have a massive contract to use in matching Giannis Antetokounmpo's deal in a trade. Sun could sell for $325 million, head to Boston I mean the WNBA's Connecticut Sun, not the giant gas star you want to stare at while knowing it's such a bad idea. Not that thing that gives sustenance to the plant life Chris Paul and his vegan friends enjoy every day. OK, that's enough about the sun. A group led by Steve Pagliuca, a minority owner for the Celtics, has interest in buying the Connecticut Sun (down at 11th in Power Rankings!). The potential price could be a record-breaking $325 million, with an additional $100 million going toward a practice facility. The reported intention is to move the team to Boston, possibly as early as 2027. This is a pretty big deal for the WNBA in general. While some might scoff at the purchase price when compared to the $10 billion to took to buy the Lakers, remember the Sacramento Kings were sold for $534 million in 2013 and the Milwaukee Bucks for $550 million in 2014. Also remember the NBA had a decades-long head start at creating value for their franchises. With expansion franchises going for $250 million, I'm sure this eye-popping Sun number will make players feel even more emboldened to earn what they're owed. The WNBA is possibly heading toward a lockout during labor negotiations, in which players want a much bigger piece of the thriving league's pie. Grading offseasons is tough, but we did it We've got a little less than two months left in the offseason before we're past media day and knee-deep in some training camp action and soundbites. And while this summer is not completely over for people named Kuminga, Russell Westbrook or Cam Thomas, the majority of teams have filled their rotations and are looking set for the start of next season. So it's the perfect time to start grading each team's offseason. Advertisement That's exactly what my colleagues at The Athletic did this week. Every team has a grade, except for the one team that has earned an incomplete so far. Let's go over four teams I felt were graded too low and four teams I felt were graded too high. Luckily for my colleagues, I'm wrong a lot, so they probably nailed these grades regardless. Four teams I graded lower: Four teams I graded higher: Here are all those grades again. Streaming links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store