Last year, Jaylen Brown lost a race to viral streamer IShowSpeed, and the internet hasn’t let him forget it. But the Boston Celtics star isn’t running from that memory. He wants a rematch. That confidence got a big boost when Brown trained in Monaco alongside Olympic gold medalist Noah Lyles.

The Finals MVP pushed Lyles to a surprisingly close finish, and when they rolled the replay, Brown couldn’t contain himself, celebrating like a man who had just discovered something dangerous about his own speed. Lyles, however, wasn’t impressed. The sight of Brown hyping up a near-miss instantly reminded him of IShowSpeed’s 50m race against him, a race the audience thought was close, but one Lyles never considered competitive for a second. He grouped the two together without hesitation, calling both Brown and Speed delusional. But Brown wasn’t having it. In his since-deleted livestream, he fired back.

“Speed can’t mess with me,” Brown said of the viral streamer. “I raced Speed after knee surgery, and he tried to social engineer his win. Speed, if you’re watching, rematch. I’m getting better. I got some good takeaways. I’m locked in with my boy. Run it back. See if you can beat me. I’ll donate $100,000 to your foundation. Or I’ll donate it to your own pockets. It doesn’t matter.”

To be fair, context matters for that original race. They ran on the streets of Boston, no track, no starting blocks, and IShowSpeed pulled his hamstring mid-race, yet still managed to hobble across the finish line first. Brown had his excuses afterward, and the camera angles left room for debate about how close it really was. But the one with Lyles was a considerably close finish, giving the Celtics star newfound energy.

Jaylen Brown has about seven inches of height advantage over Lyles, which gives him a noticeable early-race boost through longer strides and leverage. Lyles’ sprinting skill takes over as the race continues. However, it was the Olympian sprinter who coached JB to run a PR of 3.77 in the 30-meter dash. Having set a new PR, the motivated Celtics star now aims to compete against IShowSpeed.

Shifting back to basketball, though, Brown’s future in Boston is more uncertain than it appears. He’s under contract with the Celtics through the 2028-29 season, but that security can be misleading… He was reportedly one of the main trade pieces dangled in pursuit of Giannis Antetokounmpo before Milwaukee ultimately rejected Boston’s advances.

The Celtics came up short, and now that saga is over, the question of what’s next for Brown, and whether he will stay the foundational player he’s expected to be, quietly remains as we head into the offseason.

Why Jaylen Brown’s trade rumors don’t die down just because the Giannis trade is over

Shams Charania reported that while Boston wasn’t actively shopping Jaylen Brown, they were willing to include him specifically to acquire Giannis Antetokounmpo if necessary. It wasn’t enough. The Miami Heat ultimately won that trade, securing the two-time MVP and leaving the Celtics behind.

Now the fallout begins.

Brown has three years remaining on a max contract and will want an extension, but whether that comes in Boston is far from guaranteed. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst laid out the harsh reality, revealing that the Celtics’ aggressive pursuit of Giannis stemmed from a blunt internal reckoning.

“They’ve taken a hard look in the mirror, and they have decided we weren’t going to beat the Knicks,” Windhorst said on Get Up. “The Celtics are stone cold and sober… They’re not sure they’re going to be as good as the Pacers next year when they come back fully healthy. And they believe they need to upgrade their team. I am now speculating that if Jaylen Brown doesn’t get traded for Giannis, they may trade him somewhere else.”

Over the past few weeks, Brown has made it clear, on multiple occasions during the live streams, that he wouldn’t want to leave Boston. However, we aren’t exactly sure how serious the Celtics were about acquiring Giannis (we’ll actually never know). In a world where they were truly willing to trade Brown, a statement the player made three years ago could realistically forecast what might happen very soon.

“As long as I’m needed,” Brown said in 2023. “It’s not up to me. We’ll see how they feel about me over time, and I feel about them over time. Hopefully, whatever it is, it makes sense. But I will stay where I’m wanted. I will stay where I’m needed and treated correct.”

“It’s hard coming into teams and organizations and being warm,” Brown continued. “They operate on different principles, I think. This is an organization. They look at it as a business, where they’ll tell you one thing, and then behind closed doors, they’ll say another, and they’ll trade you off.”

The sprint races and Monaco training sessions are a world away from all of this.

The 29-year-old is right in the middle of his prime and delivered a standout season, earning a spot on the All-NBA Second Team and finishing sixth in MVP voting. He just proved he can be the best player on a contending team.

The Clippers and Blazers remain interested in him, but the ball is now in the Celtics’ court if they want to part ways with their Finals MVP.