Celtics’ Jaylen Brown Surges In New NBA Player Rankings

The NBA has been back in action for just over a month, and Celtics guard Jaylen Brown is stepping up as Boston’s top option while Jayson Tatum is recovering from his Achilles injury.

Brown is playing well enough for The Ringer to move him up in a new NBA player rankings.

Heading into the season, The Ringer listed Brown as the No. 20 best player in the NBA, but on Wednesday, it has Brown at No. 13.

“The Celtics may need to keep the keys to the tank in the drawer, and Brown’s star-level play is a big reason why,” The Ringer staff wrote. “For so long, Brown’s forceful floor game has been the counterpunch to Jayson Tatum’s more programmatic approach, but with his superstar copilot (and Jrue Holiday and Kristap Porzingis and Al Horford) out, Brown has scaled up his usage to Giannis-like rates with relative ease and looked the part of a true no. 1 option.

“Expectations should be kept on the low side (a spunky first-round exit, perhaps?), but if the Celtics hang in the playoff mix, Brown has a good chance of getting back onto an All-NBA roster this season. At the very least, he should have plenty of fodder for his streaming career.”

Brown is averaging 27.9 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists over 17 games this season, making him a strong contender for his fifth All-Star selection in his career.