Jaylen Brown Reacts Coldly to Jalen Brunson Winning Eastern Player of the Month Despite Lower Averages Than Celtics Star

Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown was not named the Eastern Conference Player of the Month for December. Instead, the NBA announced that New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson was given the honors. The Knicks guard appeared in 13 games in December, averaging 30.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 7.1 assists.

In that month, the Knicks went 10-3 with Brunson. The star guard only missed one game for his team. However, not everyone was thrilled about the results. Brown, in particular, had a cold response to the two-time All-Star winning the award. On X (formerly Twitter), the Celtics star did not hold back in letting everyone know that he feels differently about who the winner was.

"Smh," Brown posted.

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Brown had a slightly better month than Brunson. In 10 games, he averaged 31.7 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.4 assists, leading to a 7-3 record. While his numbers were better than the Knicks' star, he played fewer games.

Overall, the Celtics are now 21-12, making them the third-best team in the East. The Knicks, meanwhile, have remained as the consistent second-seeded team with a 23-10 record.

Both Jaylen Brown and Jalen Brunson have had a great month of basketball. But only one was recognized as the best player of the conference for December.

The Celtics star has another shot at winning the Player of the Month for January. The team didn't go empty-handed, though. Coach Joe Mazzulla was given the Coach of the Month. Mazzulla led the team to a 9-3 record in the final month of 2025 and boasted the second-best win percentage (.750) in the league.

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Paul Pierce had high praise for Jaylen Brown

Before the 2025-26 season started, no one imagined the Celtics would be a top-three team in the East. Without their best player, Jayson Tatum, Boston wasn't written as a threat in the conference. Tatum is out indefinitely as he recovers from a torn Achilles tendon and will likely miss the entire campaign.

This left Jaylen Brown as the lone star for the team. But even without his co-star, Brown has stepped up his game and led the franchise all by himself. Paul Pierce, a former Celtics player, feels that the four-time All-Star should be considered for MVP because of his performance.

The 2008 Finals MVP talked about it on Wednesday's episode of his show with Danny Green, "No Fouls Given."

“Everybody hates the Celtics,” Pierce said. “We all know this. Why isn’t he? Nobody had the Celtics third in the East without Tatum. He’s putting up 30 consistently.”

Through 31 games this year, Jaylen Brown has averaged 29.5 points, 6.4 rebounds and 5.0 assists. He's having one of the best years of his season and could be considered for the MVP award.

Edited by Reign Amurao