J aylen Brown has played second fiddle to Jayson Tatum ever since the latter entered the league in the 2017-18 season. Even when Brown won the Eastern Conference Finals MVP and Finals MVP in 2024, he was widely considered Tatum's sidekick, not the lead dog on the Boston Celtics.

Jefferson’s final point, that the US won’t have a dominant big man by then, as Joel Embiid and Anthony Davis age out, is well-taken. Evan Mobley and Bam Adebayo are All-Star-caliber players, but will they be able to stop Wemby or Nikola Jokic from going wild? That could be the key that decides it all.

The Boston Celtics made key offseason moves in 2025 amid injury and cap concerns. Here are grades and analysis for each new signing.