Celtics' Jaylen Brown's Knee in 'Good Place Structurally' Amid Injury, Stevens Says

Jaylen Brown played through a partially torn right meniscus through the end of the regular season and playoffs, and Boston Celtics president Brad Stevens provided more insight to that injury on Monday.

Stevens said that Brown's knee is "in a good place structurally," adding that having a few weeks off should help.

“Jaylen wants to play, Jaylen’s a warrior, Jaylen takes great pride in being out there,” Stevens said, per MassLive's Souichi Terada. “And at the same time, he saw obviously our team docs and a couple of other people, and as he even said a couple weeks ago, the knee’s in a good place structurally.

“And so I think he felt comfortable getting out there and going after it. And hopefully he’ll feel better after being off it for a couple weeks here. The unfortunate part is we’re done in the middle of May, but some of these guys who have some nicks, bruises and other things that it’ll be good to get some rest.”

Brown, the 2024 Finals MVP, suffered the injury in March and missed the final three games of the regular season because of it, per ESPN's Ramona Shelburne. Despite the injury, he managed to play in the postseason because he "was able to modify his game and play through pain," per Shelburne.

Though he was on the court, Brown was far from the best version of himself. He averaged 22.1 points and 7.1 rebounds per game but shot 44.1 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from deep. After star Jayson Tatum suffered a torn Achilles in Game 4 of the second-round series against the New York Knicks, Brown, serving as the main option, was not enough to help Boston overcome a 3-1 deficit.

Now, the question for Brown becomes whether he'll need surgery for the knee injury. Shelburne reported on Saturday that Brown will be evaluated this week to determine whether surgery is required.

While it's unclear how long surgery would leave Brown sidelined, if at all, any time missed would be a major hit to the Celtics. With Tatum likely out for most, if not all, of the season, Boston's chances of competing for the playoffs rely heavily on Brown's availability.

If Brown's injury requires surgery and a long recovery time, the Celtics' plans for the 2025-26 season could shift drastically.