The Boston Celtics rolled into Los Angeles on February 22 and handled the Lakers by 22 points. Brown was dominant all night long. James was unusually candid afterward at the podium. What followed became one of the most talked-about postgame pressers of the entire 2025-26 NBA season.
It had everything a basketball fan could want. There was MVP drama, a Bronny James subplot, and a rivalry that never loses its edge. If you care about who wins the MVP this year and why it matters, this story is built for you.
Let’s take a closer look.
The night that set everything off
A dominant road win gave Brown the stage he needed and gave LeBron the microphone moment everyone is still talking about. The Celtics dominated the Lakers from wire to wire on February 22 at Crypto.com Arena. Brown posted 32 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, and three steals in 36 minutes of work. It was a masterclass in two-way basketball on the road against a historic rival.
Boston won 111-89 and looked nothing like a team in a down year. Brown came close to a triple-double while leading a franchise that has been without Jayson Tatum all season due to a torn Achilles. The performance forced an entire conversation the next morning.
LeBron speaks his mind
James did not hold back when asked about Brown after the loss. “This whole MVP thing, I don’t understand why his name is not getting talked about as well,” he told reporters. He pointed out that nobody gave Boston a shot heading into the season and that Brown was averaging just under 30 points a game.
He went further and called the award a popularity contest at times. “I don’t know the criteria of MVP anymore,” James said. “I stopped giving a damn about it a long time ago. I got my own personal issues about it.” That last line opened a whole other conversation about LeBron’s complicated history with the award.
Brown’s numbers make a real argument
Brown is averaging 29.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game this season. Those are career highs across the board and place him fourth in the entire NBA in scoring. He leads the league in field goal attempts per game and has been the engine of everything Boston does offensively.
He has also been the most available player among the top MVP contenders this year. Brown played 51 of the Celtics’ 56 games heading into the All-Star break. That kind of durability matters in a long season, and it rarely gets the credit it deserves in award conversations.
Where Brown actually stands in the race
Brown sits sixth on the NBA KIA MVP Ladder and outside the top five in Vegas odds. He trails Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, Cade Cunningham, and Victor Wembanyama. That is a stacked list of names standing between him and the trophy.
The biggest knock on Brown is efficiency. His usage rate has spiked as the team’s primary option with Tatum out. That jump has him ranked 12th in the NBA’s published efficiency metric, which puts him well behind several of the other leading MVP candidates.
Fun fact: Brown won the 2024 NBA Finals MVP by receiving seven of the 11 media votes, yet his teammate Jayson Tatum actually led the series in points, rebounds, and assists.
Boston was not supposed to be here
Boston moved on from Jrue Holiday, Al Horford, and Kristaps Porzingis after winning the title. Then Tatum went down with a torn Achilles tendon before the season even got going. Most teams would fold under that kind of pressure and begin preparing for the draft lottery instead.
Brown used all of it as motivation. LeBron acknowledged as much at the podium, saying Brown kept the Celtics afloat by treating the doubts as fuel. Boston went 37-19 and held the second seed in the Eastern Conference. That is one of the better stories in the NBA this season.
The Bronny subplot no one saw coming
During the 2024 Summer League, Brown was caught on camera appearing to tell WNBA players Angel Reese and Kysre Gondrezick that he did not think Bronny James was a pro. The clip went viral and sparked debate across the basketball world. Brown quickly responded on social media and walked the comment back entirely.
At the postgame on February 22, LeBron acknowledged their relationship had been respectful before adding that exception. “Besides the stuff he said about Bronny at Summer League,” James said with a grin. He added that Brown posted a supportive message about Bronny on social media afterward and that things between them were fine. Still, LeBron made it clear he had not forgotten.
Fun fact: When the Lakers selected Bronny James with the 55th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, LeBron and Bronny became the first father-son duo to play together as active players in NBA history.
Brown reacts to the praise
Brown was asked about LeBron’s comments after the game and kept his answer grounded. “It’s an honor to play the Celtics-Lakers rivalry,” he said. He described James as arguably ‘the best player to ever play the game‘ and said receiving high praise from him meant a lot. Brown added that he wakes up every morning grateful and humbled by where he is.
Brown also shared a personal story about what LeBron told him as a rookie after that first start against Cleveland. He said the two reconnected at the All-Star Game, and James reminded him of that conversation. “You remember that 10 years ago?” Brown said he asked. James smiled and told him he was not surprised by anything Brown was doing now.
What happens from here
The NBA playoffs begin April 18, and voters will finalize their ballots before then. Brown needs more defining moments to separate himself from the pack. His performance against the Lakers was exactly the kind of game that moves needles. He needs more of them on the biggest possible stages.
LeBron James put a national spotlight on Brown with one postgame press conference. The Celtics are 37-19 and firmly in the playoff picture. Brown is healthy and playing the best basketball of his life. Whether the voters follow where LeBron is pointing is the only real question left in this story.
TL;DR
- Jaylen Brown scored 32 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals in a 111-89 Celtics blowout win over the Lakers on February 22.
- LeBron James publicly backed Brown for MVP and called the award a popularity contest.
- Brown is averaging 29.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 4.9 assists while playing 51 of 56 games.
- He sits sixth in MVP odds behind SGA, Jokic, Doncic, Cunningham, and Wembanyama.
- LeBron brought up Bronny’s 2024 Summer League comments but said the relationship is fine.
This article was made with AI assistance and human editing.
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