After Game 1 of the 2024 NBA Finals, Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd called Jaylen Brown the Boston Celtics’ “best player”. Various analysts interpreted Kidd’s comment as an attempt to create tension between Brown and teammate Jayson Tatum. 

The Celtics went on to capture the NBA championship in Game 5, and Brown was named the NBA Finals MVP. The three-time All-Star averaged 20.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 0.8 and 1.6 steals per game in the series.

In an interview with Dubs Talk, Kidd reflected on his NBA Finals comment regarding Brown.

https://x.com/NBCSCeltics/status/1825956857694843302

“He was playing the best, I think, at the time,” Kidd said. “Some took it as, I was trying to start something. But he had just won the Eastern Conference MVP, and then he actually ended up winning the MVP in the Finals. So I don’t know if I was wrong. But as we know, media can sometimes take it as, I was trying to start something between Jayson and Jaylen. It wasn’t that. I was just making a comment that Jaylen is playing at a high level. [Jrue] Holiday agreed. It wasn’t that I was starting anything.”

Kidd’s intuition proved to be correct, with Brown being officially deemed the Celtics’ top player in the championship round. Whether Brown is Boston’s best player throughout the full season may be a different story.