Boston Celtics stars Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis have formed a sweet connection (and nickname) this season. Although Porzingis is a first-year Celtic and Brown is currently the longest-tenured Green Teamer, the two have played well off of one another and helped the C’s to an excellent 41-12 overall record.
The unlikely duo live in the same building in Boston and have used their off-the-court relationship to generate in-game success.
While they play different positions and have unique roles for the Celtics, something about their connection felt familiar to Porzingis, per the “View From The Rafters” podcast.
“Me, playing with Bradley Beal and finding him on those backdoors and him coming off with that explosivity that he has helped me just click with JB right away,” Porzingis said. “There are some similarities in their games. Just how dynamic both of them are and how they get downhill and create for others.”
Like Porzingis, Beal was a part of the Washington Wizards last season. The two didn’t get a ton of opportunities to play with each other, as Beal missed 32 games and the Wizards weren’t good enough to make a playoff push. Washington finished 35-47 and then dealt Porzingis to Boston and Beal to the Phoenix Suns in the offseason.
Similarly to Beal, Brown likes to work in isolation and take defenders off the dribble. In fact, their stat lines for the 2023-24 season are very comparable.
Brown is averaging 22 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game. Beal is averaging 18.7 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per outing. From the field, Brown is shooting 49.5% while Beal is putting up a nearly identical 49.3% conversion rate. To top it all off, they’re both shooting under 36% from deep.
With all these parallels, it’s no surprise that Porzingis has gelled so well with Brown. However, that pairing might not be on display on Tuesday night, as Porzingis is questionable for a divisional showdown with the Brooklyn Nets.
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