Jaylen Brown Reveals Controversial All-Time Starting Five

MVP candidate Jaylen Brown has been more outspoken this season due to having more opportunities to speak his mind. Legendary NBA interviewer Ahmad Rashad interviewed the Boston Celtics superstar recently and got into a discussion about the greatest players in the league’s history to inspire him. The topic changed course to Brown listing his all-time starting five.

Rashad received the following answer from Brown on the spot:

“LeBron (James), Kobe (Bryant) and Michael Jordan – let’s start there. Then I’ll say Steph Curry and my 5? I’ll say Bill Russell.”

The starting lineup via position for Brown would be:

Curry (PG)

Jordan (SG)

Bryant (SF)

James (PF)

Russell (C)

 

 

Brown received some criticism for not keeping players in their natural positions to include his favorites. Michael Jordan and LeBron James are considered locks for most all-time lists or lineups since most view them as the two greatest basketball players of all time.

However, Brown wanted to include Kobe Bryant, so he added two shooting guards to ruin the authentic lineup dynamic. Most of today’s stars grew up watching Kobe and pay him the ultimate respect by ensuring he’s always included in these legendary fantasy lists.

Jaylen Brown Respected Current Legacy Stars

Brown has fallen short in intense playoff series against James and Stephen Curry with an NBA Championship or a trip to the NBA Finals on the line. Respect was shown to include both names since Brown has played against them with the highest stakes. The longevity of James and Curry also impresses the active stars still competing against them.

Past comments have featured Brown joking about having to realize how great Curry is by playing against him in the 2021 NBA Finals. Top stars ultimately must beat their era’s top legends to get to the next level and become champions in the stacked NBA.

Brown getting his first ring in 2024 and winning NBA Finals MVP creates a stronger mutual respect for other names to accomplish that. James and Curry have been in MVP discussions and title contention for one to two decades now. Brown was always going to include them.

Brown Showed Love To Celtics Legend

The late Bill Russell may be the most controversial pick on the list since his scoring stats were never great. Russell won the most NBA Championships in league history and helped the Celtics dominate the league, but he also benefited from multiple drastic variables working in his favor.

Fewer teams meant it was easier to have deep playoff runs and lackluster competition gave his teams a strong advantage. Russell still played superb basketball as arguably the greatest defender in NBA history to lead the Celtics to historic success that Brown is still following today.

Brown has also talked about his advocacy for social justice and equal rights issues in the United States. Russell was one of the forefathers of creating change for black athletes and dealing with intense racism to help future generations have a better life. Brown has praised that in the past and gave Russell the nod over Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O’Neal, Nikola Jokic, and other great centers.

Joey Haverford Joey Haverford is a seasoned sports content writer with over 12 years of experience. He has covered the NBA, WNBA, MLB, NFL, and professional wrestling in the sports industry. More about Joey Haverford