Jaylen Brown has been on an absolute tear, dropping 30 or more points in nine consecutive games—a scorching streak that ties him with Celtics legend Larry Bird for the longest such run in franchise history. Yet, despite this historic scoring outburst, the NBA’s recognition lagged behind.

Brown was surprisingly snubbed for Eastern Conference Player of the Month in December, even as he led the league with 31.7 points per game, added 6.5 rebounds and 5.4 assists, and shot over 53% from the field while guiding Boston to a strong 9-3 record amid Jayson Tatum’s absence.

Brown’s own head coach, Joe Mazzulla, didn’t hold back in his support ahead of a matchup against the Clippers: “I fully support him in it. I think he should have won it. And I hope he takes it out on our opponents for the next month.”

Even though the 4x All-Star did not get his recognition, Mazzulla earned the NBA Coach of the Month (East) accolade after a 9-3 record in December. Interestingly, Jaylen Brown had won two Eastern Player of the Week awards in December (Week 7 and Week 10).

Yet, he finished runner-up to the New York Knicks’ Jalen Brunson. No doubt the Knicks captain had a stellar month, where he led his team to the 2025 NBA Cup and won the NBA Cup MVP.

What many saw as a “gap year” for the Celtics has instead become a showcase of Brown’s emergence as a true alpha, transforming Boston into a legitimate contender in the Eastern Conference.

In December, Brunson would score 30.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 7.1 assists, but Brown performed better. Numbers nearly identical or even superior in certain metrics to Brunson’s, especially considering his defensive assignments.

That’s why he tweeted, “Smh” after Brunson and SGA were announced as the POTM for the East and the West, respectively.

It became a huge talking point, and that tweet garnered over 3.3 million. His disappointment is justified.

Being the focal point of the team with Jayson Tatum sidelined indefinitely because of a torn Achilles, Jaylen Brown took the opportunity with both hands.

According to Cleaning the Glass, he assisted on 25% of the Celtics‘ points in December, including 5 games in which he assisted on over 27% of their points. Even a franchise legend came in support as Brown expressed his disappointment on his stream.

Paul Pierce Backs Jaylen Brown Amid Losing Out On POTM

As soon as the news came out, Paul Pierce on X backed JB not just for POTM but for including him in MVP conversation. “And can we put Jalen Brown in the MVp Talk this is just ridiculous how did he not get POTM More Celtic hate but we use to it 🤔.”

In his tweet, the former NBA champion and 10-time All-Star simply called it “Celtics hate” as a reason for Brown being overlooked.

Even Jaylen Brown made it clear that his frustration wasn’t with the players who won the accolade. He called both SGA and Brunson “great players” before drawing a clear line: none of them outperformed him in the month of December.

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And Brown has a solid case. “I’m not going to say too much, but I’m going to be honest,” he told viewers. “No disrespect, no diss to one of those guys, Shai or Brunson. Neither one of them had a better month than I had. But it’s all good.”

Brown has been Boston‘s clear leader and most reliable two-way option as he continues to score efficiently and anchor the team during various key stretches. Especially at a time when, in the off-season, the franchise parted ways with Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday, and Al Horford.

With Tatum predicted to return after the All-Star break, Brown has truly become the leader when nobody expected it from Beantown.