Celtics' Jaylen Brown Talks Wrist 'Issues,' Says He's Stayed Quiet About Extent of Injury

Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown has been dealing with a wrist injury for several years that has impacted his on-court ability.

Speaking to The Athletic's Jay King, Brown explained that he's had "issues" with his left wrist.

"I've had some issues," Brown said. "I don't usually tell the media or the world about it, but I've had some issues with my left wrist."

The wrist issue dates back to 2021 when he had surgery to repair a torn scapholunate ligament. Brown explained that he has undergone additional "procedures and stuff" since that initial surgery due to complications like "a couple of loose bodies" that he had to get taken care of in the summer of 2023.

In order to manage the situation, Brown told King that he has received various treatments that includes platelet-rich plasma injections and stem cell treatments:

"It's taken place a bunch of times throughout the years. I've had to take trips to go get PRP shots, different type of stem cell treatment on my wrist, where it's helping you regain mobility and things like that. Sometimes you fall on it; that can cause fragmentation or something and it swells up, so for two weeks or a month, you can't really move it or anything like that."

The common refrain about Brown's scouting report in past years was that you just had to force him to go left because he wasn't as strong with the ball in that hand.

The 2023 Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat, in particular, was a moment when Brown's limitations were in the spotlight. He committed 66 turnovers in the seven-game series, with The Athletic's Jared Weiss noting 25 of those stemmed from him losing his left-hand dribble.

Brown has improved since that playoff series, as evidenced by being named MVP of both the Eastern Conference Finals and NBA Finals in 2024 to help the Celtics win the championship.

With Jayson Tatum out of action due to a torn Achilles, Brown has stepped up his game this season to become Boston's go-to offensive option. He has evolved his game to be more aggressive with the third-most drives per game in the NBA (17.7).

For comparison, Brown averaged 12.2 drives per game during the 2024-25 season.

As a result of his more aggressive approach, Brown is averaging a career-high 29.6 points on 49.9 percent shooting (37.2 percent from three) and 5.0 assists per game in 35 starts.

The Celtics, even without Tatum, are sitting in second place in the Eastern Conference with a 24-13 record. They have won eight of their last 10 games going into Saturday's matchup with the San Antonio Spurs.