Ramp to Camp: What should Jaylen Brown add to his bag this season? originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
death Taxes. Jaylen Brown adding something to his bag over the summer.
These are the only certainties of life. And before you even try to protest with something like: “Well, it was a short summer, so were we really surely JB will add something new to the toolbox this year?” just go chart his development since arriving in Boston. Brown will find something improve this season.
Each season, Brown comes back a little better. He has a pair of shiny postseason MVP trophies of Boston’s title run to show his progress.
So what could be new in 2024-25? For the third installment of ours Ramp to Camp 2024 series, we asked our NBC Sports Boston panel to pick one area they hoped Brown would improve on for the 2024-25 campaign. (Check out the first and second installments of Ramp to Camp here.)
Brown’s steps are well documented. Last season, he accepted the challenge of defending elite scorers and moved his way to All Defense consideration. Brown’s playmaking and vision have made remarkable strides. The offensive game continues to grow with Brown seemingly more lethal in the mid-range.
So what still needs improvement? The most popular answer among our panel was Brown’s free throw shooting. He dropped to 70.3 percent shooting at the stripe last season after shooting a career-best 76.5 percent in 2022-23. In addition, Brown shot just 66 percent at the line in the postseason.
We could argue about how his defensive rebounding rate dipped, but everyone’s rebounding rate went down with Kristaps Porzingis on the floor, and Brown was more aggressive on the boards in the postseason, especially when Porzingis was sidelined.
If we’re going to, we’d like Brown’s 3-point shot to become just a little bit more efficient. Back in his first All-Star season in 2020-21, Brown shot 39.7 percent from beyond the arc. Since that season he has been at 35.8, 33.5, and 35.4 percent, respectively, over the last three campaigns. Brown even hitting north of league average (36.6 percent) beyond the arc would make him even more of a three-level threat that can really stress defenses.
Here’s what our panel wants to see from a player who will always find some motivation regardless of his achievements:
This is very specific, but when Brown recognizes a favorable matchup for a teammate in the post, can he eliminate the lobs into the stands?
Tom GilesMulti-platform host
I’m actually looking forward to seeing Brown’s growth on the defensive end. Last season, we started seeing him hunt down the opposing team’s best player late in games. And we’ve certainly seen his defensive impact in the postseason.
How much further can Brown push that to make sure he doesn’t get left off an All-Defensive team again?
Mark Hazlett, Multiplatform producer
Picture of Grant Hill for motivation — or an 80 percent free throw stroke.
Improved free throw shooting. The streak was Brown’s Achilles heel last season, as his 70.3 percent free throw percentage was his worst since the 2018-19 season.
Brown improved in almost every other area last season, so we’d like to see him take a short break those underwater trainings and get up some more free throws.
Improved free throw shooting. It was painful to watch at points last season and during the playoffs.
Baseline spin jump shot.
Kevin Miller, VP, Contents: 2. 76ers, 3. Bucks, 4. Knicks, 5. Cavs
More game creation. Brown showed signs of improvement in the playoffs, but he has another step to take there.
