The 2023 Eastern Conference Finals was indeed a tough one to process for Jaylen Brown. After losing out the 2022 Finals to Stephen Curry’s Golden State Warriors, the Boston Celtics were well on the verge to run it back and give it another shot for the titles. However, a formidable Miami Heat squad led by Jimmy Butler bested them 4-3 in the series. At that time, all the “no left-hand” jokes on Brown echoed out loud and he chose to ignore the same. Finally, he has decided to speak on it.
On his recent Twitch stream, Brown said that he re-aggravated the left wrist he previously injured during the playoffs that year. That injury led him to become the face of all jokes that continued to stretch through the 2023 post-season and something that fans still recycle to this day. Most of it comes from JB’s struggles in clinching a win against the Heat in a seven-game series.
Jaylen Brown opens up about criticism, the “no left hand” jokes, and the heartbreaking playoff loss to Miami in 2023 that ‘nearly broke him.’
“It killed me. I wanted to win more than anything… It humbled me. It made me more focused, and my mentality shifted crazy going into… pic.twitter.com/bTiuyVmB34
— CELTICS ☘️ BANNER 19 (@BiggLynch) November 20, 2025
On his stream, Brown clarified he had never let it known that he had injured his left hand. In fact, he took the blame on himself that he couldn’t deliver a championship for the city of Boston. Taking full accountability, Brown said,
“I went to the media and I didn’t make excuses. I said it was my fault. I let the whole city down. ’m not one of the people that runs from it. Y’all had expectations for me to win and we didn’t do it. As a leader, it was my fault. That hurt. It killed me.”
Right after, the pressure was imminent on JB. That very year, Brown signed a five-year $304 million contract extension, which was by far the richest in the NBA history at that time. It was time to deliver and so he did. Jaylen Brown, alongside Jayson Tatum carried the Celtics to another deep run in the post-season, resulting in the Celtics winning their 18th championship and the first since 2008 in 2024.
Jaylen Brown Was Fueled By Frustration To Lead Celtics To A Championship
All of the trolling and jokes fueled Jaylen Brown’s frustration to bring home a championship. It added to his mentality to relentlessly carry forward through the season, resulting in the Celtics star averaging 26.6 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 3.5 assists. On his Twitch stream, he added,
“It humbled me. My mentality shifted crazy going into that next year. What was the worst moment of my career was responded with the best moment of my career in a year’s time.”
Yes indeed, the shift in mentality was what drove JB all through. He went on to lift his first NBA championship and Finals MVP trophy. JB viewed every adversity as a challenge and the way to overcome them as growth. That’s what drove him to this level of success.
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