Basketball’s war on analytics permeated social media again this weekend.
And this time, possibly soon-to-be-traded Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown took center stage, seizing on dismissive comments made about him from an anonymous NBA front office source.
The comment was reported (but not endorsed) by ESPN front office Insider and former Nets assistant general manager Bobby Marks.
“There’s mixed feelings about him when you talk to teams,” Marks said on SiriusXM NBA Radio. “The analytics of Jaylen Brown is not good … I had one, not an executive, but an analytics guy say, ‘Yeah, we view him as the seventh-best player on a team.’ I was like, ‘Holy crap.’”
Brown, justifiably so, did not take kindly to the comment.
“Analytics nowadays used to discredit and control narratives – Roll the ball out none of these guys better than me on both ends who does he work for,” he said, which began a series of tweets.
“Nobody has won more combined regular season and playoff games since I entered the league 10 years ago,” Brown continued.
Since Brown was selected No. 3 overall in the 2016 NBA Draft, which even then surprised some observers, Brown has 523 regular season and playoff wins combined among the games he has played.
Brown added, “Analytics have / are ruining the game we playing AI hoops.”
Marks replied to Brown’s initial tweet, saying, “But what wasn’t posted was the 2m of saying I’m not an analytics person but an eye test guy. That I would want Jaylen Brown on my team. That you impact winning (191-80 in the last 4 years), is a top-10 player and would help any team looking to win a championship. That part of course didn’t make it. But that’s the media in 2026.”
Brown quipped, “State Your Source,” in a quote tweet, referencing a shirt he wore during the 2024 Celtics parade, commemorating the team’s first title since 2008.
This exchange also follows a back-and-forth from earlier in the week in which Brown referred to ESPN as “unethical” while singling out Stephen A Smith, in particular, which obviously got a reply from the opinionated long-time First Take host.
Brown continues to surface in trade rumors this offseason and was the Celtics’ leading trade chip in their failed pursuit of Giannis Antetokounmpo, which saw the former two-time MVP dealt to the Miami Heat on June 22.
Boston’s asking price for the 2024 Finals MVP is reportedly very high, while Brown is coming off his best individual season, which was mostly without Jayson Tatum, who missed significant time due to Achilles surgery.
Brown averaged 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game last season, all career-highs, while earning his fifth overall and fourth straight All-Star nod.
Brown also finished sixth in MVP voting last year and earned his second All-NBA nod, taking home Second Team honors, all while leading the Celtics to the Eastern Conference’s No. 2 seed.
Brown also has a looming contract question. The two-way wing is set to make north of $57 million and $61 million over the next two seasons, while raking in just under $65 million in 2028-29.
He is eligible for a two-year extension worth $142 million on top of that.
Boston was upset by the Philadelphia 76ers in last year’s playoffs, where the Celtics squandered a 3-1 first-round lead, and Tatum was forced to miss Game 7 at home due to injury.