Jayson Tatum was named to his first NBA All-Star roster Thursday night. Jaylen Brown wasn't.
You could argue that outcome is the best-case scenario for the Boston Celtics.
For Tatum, it's a confidence-boosting validation that he's on the NBA superstar track. For Brown? It's just another slight he can add to the bulletin board.
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"I'm not disappointed," Brown said Thursday about not making the Eastern Conference All-Star reserves. "I think there are a lot of guys that you have to choose from.
" ... I try to use anything and look for anything and everything as motivation. But it's OK. I'll keep working and get ready for the playoffs. That's the stage you want to be on."
Brown's response stands in contrast to previous All-Star snubs, who have ripped the voting process or even been moved to tears after missing the cut.
All-Star nods can be tied to legitimate financial incentives, so one wouldn't fault Brown for being peeved that his 20.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.2 steals per game weren't All-Star worthy.
But the 23-year-old appears to be internalizing the news exactly how the Celtics hoped he would.
"It adds another motivating factor," Stevens said Thursday night after watching Brown drop 18 points in a win over the Golden State Warriors. "I'm happy for Jayson, and I thought that Jaylen handled it great. Not being named, he came out of the gates playing great. So, I thought the response of both guys was really good."
" ... He's good about finding motivation for himself."
Could Brown follow in the footsteps of a player like Damian Lillard, who turned All-Star snubs in 2015-16 and 2016-17 into two of the best statistical seasons of his career?
Brown certainly seems to have the mindset of a player eager to provide the Celtics what they really need: All-Star-caliber play during a postseason run.
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