Jaylen Brown received MVP praise from Bulls coach Billy Donovan

BOSTON — Ahead of the 2025-26 regular season. many people doubted the boston celtics. Many wondered how they fared without six-time All-Star Jayson Tatum healthy and if their new signings could make up for their significant off-season losses. Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan he was not one of the doubters.

In fact, considering how he talked about the C’s on Monday night ahead of the Bulls’ first game against the Celtics this season, it would be more appropriate to label him a believer.

“When you lose great players, it’s always going to affect your team,” Donovan said when asked about the undermanned Celtics’ new look. “But they had a very, very good staff. I was very surprised during the year that a lot of people picked them.”

That “very good staff” has shined for Boston so far. Celtics head coach Joe Mazzula has developed the young talent of the Green Team and president of basketball operations for the Celtics Brad Stevens still looks like a top NBA executive.

Perhaps his best decision was to refuse to deal the Celtics star Jailen Brown (despite numerous trade rumors). Brown is averaging over 30 points per game and is fresh 50-point performance against the Los Angeles Clippers. The four-time All-Star’s consistent excellence is a big reason why the Celtics are 21-12 overall and in third place in the Eastern Conference.

“I have a lot of respect for Jaylen,” Donovan said. “He’s obviously playing at, probably, an MVP level, at least when it comes down to it.”

Billy Donovan has high praise for the Celtics, and Jaylen Brown in particular:

“He’s probably playing at an MVP level.” pic.twitter.com/aakBLzUgKg

— Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) January 5, 2026

Donovan is not only kind to his hosts during the night. Brown has scored more than 30 points in 10 of his last 12 games and is shooting a career-high 51% from the field. And with Denver Nuggets superstar and popular MVP candidate Nikola Jokic out for at least the next four weeks, The MVP chatter surrounding Brown has grown.

The 2024 NBA Finals MVP still has a lot of work to do before hoisting the Michael Jordan trophy, but there’s no denying that he’s been a great leader – on and off the court – for the Celtics. The rest of the C’s followed his lead and helped Boston score early.

“Everybody was able to pick up a certain part of what Tatum brought to the table,” Donovan said of the 2025-26 Celtics.