Jaylen Brown Reacts to Jalen Brunson, Knicks' NBA Title: ‘Pain to See'

The New York Knicks are NBA champions after defeating the Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers, and Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference, then Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals, 4-1.

The Boston Celtics were a team that many believed would conquer the Eastern Conference once Jayson Tatum returned from injury amid Jaylen Brown’s impressive season.

However, Tatum was unable to play in a must-win Game 7 in Boston against the 76ers, and Brown was unable to do enough to lead his team to a victory, sending them home earlier than they would’ve liked.

Brown was among the many people watching the Finals from afar and spoke about seeing the Knicks claim their third championship in team history, behind fellow All-Star guard Jalen Brunson.

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“Congrats to the Knicks. Shoutout JB, [OG Anunoby], all those guys, [Karl Anthony Towns], [Mikal Bridges]. Incredible run, and you gotta give credit obviously. It is pain to see . Pain to see, but gotta tip your cap,” Brown said on his live stream.

“JB’s a dog. The ball just bounced in the right direction for them a lot of those games at the end … The stars lined up, and to win a championship, that’s what it takes. It takes you to be healthy, and you gotta be good,” he said.

Brown, who won NBA Finals MVP during the Celtics’ championship several seasons ago, clearly showed the love but also felt the emotional letdown of his team failing to capture another this postseason.

His mentioning being “healthy” doesn’t seem like shade towards Tatum playing in only 16 regular-season games, but one never knows.

He also indicated he was “getting prepared for next season” and called it “any man’s game” when it comes to wins it all.

“You have not seen the best version of Jaylen Brown,” he said, indicating he was “improving” and going to turn “weaknesses into strengths.”

Boston finished 56-26 last season, good for second overall in the Eastern Conference behind only the Detroit Pistons. However, their first-round exit was a major disappointment, seeing as they finally had Tatum back from his brutal injury. Brown was also healthy and playing at a high level with his teammates, but things didn’t go in their favor.

Meanwhile, Brown became the center of trade rumors after his team’s exit, due to intriguing comments where he said it was his favorite season with the Celtics. That led some to speculate he might get traded due to wanting a situation on another team where he’s the leader and top star.

There are still ongoing rumors about the Celtics trying to trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo, which would likely involve a huge package deal that included Brown going to the Milwaukee Bucks or another NBA team. Time will tell if a team makes a blockbuster trade for the Greek Freak in the coming offseason.

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This story was originally published June 15, 2026 at 12:13 PM.