The knee injury that limited Jaylen Brown late this season was a partially torn meniscus, according to a report Saturday from ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne.
The Celtics star battled knee issues from the NBA All-Star break on, with Boston listing him on its injury report with a right knee posterior impingement and bone bruise. He missed eight of the final 16 regular-season games and admitted he was playing through pain when he did suit up.
Before the playoffs, after acknowledging that he needed to adjust his game to account for his physical limitations, Brown received pain management injections in his knee.
“I’ve had to come to grips that every night, I’m not going to feel my normal self,” he said after an April 2 loss to Miami.
Brown “will be evaluated this week to determine if surgery is needed,” per Sheburne’s report.
The Celtics already lost one of their central superstars when Jayson Tatum ruptured his Achilles in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the New York Knicks. Tatum’s recovery is expected to stretch into 2026. It’s unclear how much time Brown would miss, if any, if his injury requires surgery to repair.
Brown declined to disclose details about his knee after the Celtics’ season-ending Game 6 loss Friday at Madison Square Garden.
“Nothing to talk about right now,” he said. “But we’ll see the next steps, and you just sit back and process and see what the next steps are.”
Brown missed a total of 19 games this season with knee, hip and shoulder injuries. The 28-year-old made his fourth All-Star team and averaged a career-best 4.5 assists per game, but his shooting numbers suffered. His 46.3% field-goal percentage was his worst since his rookie season in 2016-17, and his 32.4% 3-point percentage was a career low. He averaged 22.0 points per game, his lowest mark since 2019-20.
In Game 6 against New York, Brown scored a team-high 20 points but committed seven turnovers and fouled out late in the third quarter as the Celtics were trounced 119-81. Though losing to the Knicks, in his words, “felt like death,” Brown expressed optimism for next season.
“I don’t make no excuses,” he said. “Obviously, It’s tough the way we went out like tonight but the way we finished the year, personally where I finished the year, persevering through some physical stuff that I was battling through. I’m proud of our group. I thought that we fought, we were in a lot of battles and there’s a lot to be excited for. This journey is not the end it’s not the end for me. I’m looking forward to coming back stronger, so you just take this with your chin up. I know Boston, it looks gloomy right now, obviously with JT being out and us kind of ending the year, but it’s a lot to look forward to. I want the city to feel excited about that. This is not the end so I’m looking forward to what’s next.
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