Jayson Tatum named to All-NBA first team; Jaylen Brown makes All-NBA second team
BOSTON -- While the Celtics' title hopes are hanging by a thread, the team's star duo received some pretty big honors on Wednesday night. Jayson Tatum was named to the All-NBA first team while Jaylen Brown landed on the All-NBA second team, the league announced.
It's huge news for Brown, who is now eligible for a max contract extension from the Celtics this offseason. Boston can offer up a five-year, $295 million contract extension to the seventh-year swingman this summer, something no other team can do. Brown is signed through next season at just over $30 million.
Giving Brown the max would lock in the team's two stars for at least a few more seasons. Tatum is on the books for two more seasons, with a player-option for the 2025-26 campaign.
This is the first All-NBA honors of Brown's career, and he certainly earned it after his best season as a pro. He averaged a career-best 26.6 points per game off 49 percent shooting from the floor, to go along with 6.9 rebounds per game. He was named to his second All-Star team at midseason, and was the East's Player of the Week in late March after averaging 31.7 points over a three-game stretch -- all Boston victories. That stretch included a 41-point game against the Spurs where Brown knocked down 18 shots.
As for Tatum, it's his second straight All-NBA first team and his third All-NBA honor overall. Tatum was named to the All-NBA third team after the 2019-20 season.
Tatum led the Celtics at a 30.1 points per game scoring clip, which ranked sixth in the NBA. That was obviously a career high for Tatum, as were his 8.8 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game. His 46.6 shooting percentage was his highest since his rookie season, and Tatum increased his free-throw attempts per game from 6.2 last season to 8.4 in 2022-23.
This marks the first time the Celtics have had two players make an All-NBA team in the same season since 2007-08, when Kevin Garnett made the first team and Paul Pierce made the third team.
