• Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown dunks during the first half of the team's NBA basketball game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) Photo: Mark J. Terrill, Associated Press
Photo: Mark J. Terrill, Associated Press
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Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown dunks during the first half of the team's NBA basketball game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Steve Kerr knows as well as any NBA head coach how much guard Jaylen Brown has improved in the 19 months since he went No. 3 overall to the Celtics in the 2016 NBA draft. Two seasons ago, Brown was a Cal teammate of Kerr’s son, Nick.
“You could see the potential, obviously, just the size and versatility when he was at Cal,” Kerr said of Brown before Saturday night’s Golden State-Boston game at Oracle Arena. “Obviously, that’s what Danny Ainge was enamored with when he drafted him. You see where the league’s going, and it’s all about versatile players who can guard multiple positions, handle the ball and shoot the ball. I think they’ve done a really good job developing him.”
After a solid — albeit, hardly spectacular — rookie year, Brown spent last summer fasting during daylight hours and working out two or three times a day. Now, more than halfway through his second season, Brown is an important cog of the Eastern Conference’s best team.
Brown, who has started all 44 games, ranks second on the Celtics in scoring (14 points per game) and third in minutes (31.4). A master at guarding multiple positions off screens, he is helping anchor the NBA’s top-rated defense. Brown, who boasts the fifth-best defensive real plus-minus among shooting guards, consistently matches up with the opponent’s best scorer.
In Boston’s Nov. 16 win over Golden State, he excelled on Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant. Brown finished with 22 points, seven rebounds, two steals and two blocks.
“I think he’s doing a good job,” Celtics head coach Brad Stevens said. “For him and (Jayson) Tatum, those are guys who are 21 and 19, but these guys can’t do anything but learn and grow. They’ll benefit greatly from experiences like this.”
Brown has been so impressive that it is easy to forget how many questions plagued him entering the 2016 draft. In his lone season with Cal, he shot 29.4 percent from three-point range and 65.4 percent from the foul line while committing a team-high 108 fouls.
Brown averaged 7.8 points on 10-for-48 shooting over his final five games. With Tyrone Wallace and Jabari Bird sidelined for the first round of the NCAA Tournament, he stumbled through a four-point, seven-turnover nightmare in a loss to Hawaii. Many were left to wonder whether Brown’s production would ever match his physical tools.
“You could see the potential, but he’s gotten a lot better over the past couple years,” Kerr said. “He’s turned into a great player.”