Celtics’ Joe Mazzulla Praises Jaylen Brown For Long Overdue Award

Jaylen Brown has played for Joe Mazzulla for three and a half seasons now, so there’s not much Brown can do to surprise the Boston Celtics head coach at this point.

However, Mazzulla was legitimately surprised that Brown’s NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month award for January was the first of his career.

“I didn’t know that was the first one of his career,” Mazzulla told reporters on Tuesday. “To me, it’s great. I think he doesn’t care about the award as much as he does chipping away at doing it all the time. I always like watching guys who are going after greatness get the little things that matter and that can add up to become bigger things.”

Jaylen Brown, fresh off his Player of the Month, has been excellent tonight in Dallas:

Joe Mazzulla was surprised when I asked him about Brown’s first-ever selection:

“I didn’t know that was his first one — that’s pretty cool.” pic.twitter.com/edFWqQ1e6W

— Noa Dalzell ???? (@NoaDalzell) February 4, 2026

Mazzulla is right that Brown doesn’t seem to care too much about the honor based on his comments on Tuesday. He’s also right that little things like weekly and monthly awards can add up to great seasons and ultimately great careers, both of which Brown is having.

“Even after everything he’s accomplished in his career, he’s still motivated by the littlest detail,” Mazzulla added. “He’s been great for us. I’m sure he’s gonna keep getting better for us. Just been a joy coaching him, knowing he can get after that. But I didn’t know that was his first one, that’s pretty cool.”

Brown is already making a strong case for February’s award after back-to-back games with at least 30 points and 10 rebounds to kick off the month, proving Mazzulla’s point that he’s always working hard to keep getting better. He’ll look to keep it up against the Houston Rockets tonight.