Jaylen Brown praises Kawhi Leonard, reveals why he wanted to guard him

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Kawhi Leonard entered Saturday night’s contest against Boston Celtics in arguably the best stretch of his NBA career. That, combined with his recent Player of the Month criticism, has given the Celtics a star Jailen Brown all the motivation he should have had probably the best game ever his NBA career.

During the Clippers’ six-game winning streak, Leonard averaged 39 points, 8.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.7 steals, 1.5 blocks and 4.3 three-pointers per game while shooting an ultra-efficient 53.2 percent from the field, 44.1 percent from three and 93.5 percent from the free throws.

It was the best overall six-game span Leonard has put together in his career, statistically speaking. But with the hot-shot Celtics flying defensively, Leonard came back down to earth with 22 points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals on 6-of-17 shooting from the field.

After a night in which he scored a career-high 50 points on 18-of-26 shooting from the field, Jaylen Brown made sure to give credit to Leonard.

“I think Kawhi Leonard is one of the greatest two-way players of all time.” Brown said after the win. “Offensively and defensively, his ability to take over the game, his defensive versatility, his offensive versatility. He’s been derailed by injuries, but people don’t understand how much effort it takes to put that much energy on both sides of the ball. He could easily focus on offense, focus your energy on defense, but someone who gets defense, it’s all on offense and wear and tear on the body. derailed by injuries, but in his prime, at his peak, he’s one of the best two-way players of all time in my opinion.

“The Clippers were hot, they were on a six-game winning streak, and we wanted to come out and respond. We feel like we’re one of the best teams in the league and we came out and played great basketball.”

Jaylen Brown after scoring 50 points against Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers:

“I just wanted to win. The last game on the road, I wanted to finish strong. I believe I’m the best two-way player in the world. I just wanted to go out there and show it.” pic.twitter.com/VNJ8c9u48B

— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) January 4, 2026

Brown also put in a great effort for, oh, almost the entire regular season. Through his first 32 games of the year, Jaylen Brown is averaging career highs of 30.1 points, 5.0 assists and 51 percent shooting from the field, along with 6.3 rebounds and 1.1 steals a night.

That’s what Celtics head coach Joe Mazzula said Brown texted him that he wanted the challenge of defending Kawhi Leonard on a flight to Los Angeles, the same day it was announced that New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson had won the Eastern Conference Player of the Month.

“Why wouldn’t I (want to do that)?” Brown answered a question about why he felt he needed to defend Leonard. “I’m looking for those challenges. I feel like it gets the most out of me. Obviously Kawhi is one of the greats, so I wanted to start with him and just look for those matchups. My mindset is, I like when my back is against the wall, I like when people doubt me.”

“Although it would be nice to get some respect, you know, keep it up,” Brown laughed as he looked around the room. “I definitely use it as fuel.”

Brown finished his first game after being named Player of the Month with a career-high 50 points on 18-of-26 shooting from the field, 6-of-10 from three and 8-of-10 from the free throw line.

“It was unbelievable,” said Celtics teammate Derrick White, who finished with 29 points, seven assists and five 3-pointers on the night. “Just the shot. It didn’t matter what the shot was, it was a high level. It was fun to watch and he did it on both sides of the ball. Guarding Kawhi, competing. He was amazing. He’s been doing it all year. That mindset, that aggressiveness. Obviously, tonight and I think this was all a lot of fun for him and I think this was all a lot of fun for him to watch.”

Kawhi Leonard and Jalen Brown have now moved 11 times in their NBA regular-season careers, with Leonard going 7-4 thus far. In those 11 games, Leonard averaged 25.7 points, 7.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.8 steals, while Brown averaged 14.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 0.8 steals per game.