NBA Finals MVP Jaylen Brown: My teacher told me I’d be in jail in five years

The Boston Celtics made history with the NBA championship title and their best player in the battle for the ring, Jaylen Brown, finally cemented his legendary status. He received the Finals’ MVP, the Bill Russell award, another Celtics legend.

He was a unique player, more than just a center. Something like Brown. A well-read, intelligent guy and brutally ignored until the best player award was presented to him.

Because playing at an inordinate level didn’t seem to count. He scored 23 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists in the regular season and the Celtics had the best record of the season. He did not make the NBA All-Stars. In the Playoffs, he had 25 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists and deservedly won the Larry Bird Award for MVP of the East Finals. But it’s nothing compared to his NBA Finals finish of 20.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5 assists. And more than the numbers: being vital.

It can be summed up in several plays. In the second game he came up with the block, along with Derrick White, on PJ Washington to stop the Mavericks. He also made the key shot from the inside. In the third he did the same, with 30 points, 24 in the second half and a mid-range that left Dallas on the brink. A spectacular game.

“He’s a kid with a winning mentality. He’s not afraid to face his weaknesses. He just gets better and better. He puts himself in vulnerable situations and he knows how to survive,” Joe Mazzulla acknowledged of the overlooked player. They didn’t give him awards, they didn’t give him credit. And to make matters worse, he had a five-year, nearly $305 million contract hanging over him. One of the biggest in the sport.

He already let it slip before the Finals. “I’m surprised by the awards because I never win sh*t. I see guys get praised and anointed, but I feel like they have half the talent I do on both sides of the court. But at this point in my life, I just accept it,” he confessed. Accepting and being better, it seems, has its rewards. He is the MVP of an NBA Finals.

Because his life is one of struggle and vindication. When he arrived in the NBA, he remembered what a teacher warned him. “In five years you’ll be in County Jail,” she said. Brown is NBA champion, MVP and enters the history of the Boston Celtics, where winning is more than that.