Ramp to Camp: Bold award predictions for 2024-25 Celtics

Let’s get bold.

To kick off Week 2 of our Ramp to Camp series, we asked our NBC Sports Boston panel to slam the fast forward button on the 2024-25 season and deliver one brash prediction about an honor or award that a member of the Celtics might earn this upcoming season.

(Check out the first five installments of Ramp to Camp here.)

Despite steamrolling the league last season, the Celtics didn’t exactly dominate the award voting. Brad Stevens got perhaps the biggest nod as Executive of the Year. But beyond one All-NBA spot (Jayson Tatum) and two All-Defense guys (Derrick White, Jrue Holiday), the Celtics didn’t get much hardware. The snubs were more notable than the winners.

So who’s going to be a surprise All-Star this year? Who is going to make the sort of leap that delivers them some postseason hardware?

Our pick is Jaylen Brown for First-Team All-Defense. On the surface it’s a bold suggestion, because the Celtics already have two guards already cemented in All-Defense spot. But we love the idea of Brown using all of the frustrations from the past six months to take his defensive game up even another level after last season’s vault.

Brown harnessed some of the motivation from being snubbed on All-NBA and All-Defense voting to help earn MVP of both the Eastern Conference Finals and NBA Finals. Then Team USA added to the disrespect with its own snub and now we’re all left waiting to see how Brown utilizes it for fuel.

Brown marched into Celtics Media Day last year and pretty much declared he was going to show he could be an All-Defense player. He backed it up throughout the season, so much so that a former All-Defense guy in Al Horford was emphatically stumping for Brown to make an All-Defense squad at the end of the year.

A player once defined by his offensive talents, Brown showed last season that he has the potential to be one of the most impactful two-way players in the NBA. He showcased it repeatedly in the postseason with his willingness to defend the best scorers on the other team.

When we think about players on revenge tours, we tend to assume that will manifest itself with loud offensive outbursts. And, maybe Brown will do that, too. But given Boston’s collection of talent, we’d really like to see him lean into his defensive potential and further announce his arrival as an All-Defense player.

One of our favorite stats from last season was that, among the NBA's highest-volume defenders (at least 10 shots defended per game; at least 65 games), Brown ranked 15th in the NBA while holding opponents to 2.4 percent below expected field goal percentage. Opponents shot just 44.8 percent against Brown, which ranked him 11th among the 111 qualifiers in that high-volume group.

Brown eliminated some of the maddening lapses in focus that once plagued him on the defensive end. He yearned for the challenge of defending the best players on the opposite team. It’s time for his defense to be recognized by the rest of the league.

Here’s what our panel sees in their crystal balls:

John Tomase, Columnist

Sam Hauser takes his rightful place in franchise history alongside Paul Pierce and Larry Bird ... by winning the 3-point shootout.

Tom Giles, Multi-platform host

Payton Pritchard brings back the 2024-25 Hustle Award, which Marcus Smart won three times. The guy is just absolutely everywhere and he never plays at anything less than 100 mph.

Max Lederman, Multi-platform producer

Jayson Tatum wins MVP.

I'll be interested to see how Tatum responds to the Team USA drama this summer, since he's really never been publicly embarrassed like that before in his career.

The bottom line is that he's 26 years old, the best player on the defending champions, and has finished top-six in MVP voting the last three seasons. It's his time.

Mark Hazlett, Multi-platform producer

If we're throwing up a heave here, gotta go with Payton Pritchard winning Sixth Man of the Year.

Horford will start until Kristaps Porzingis returns, so PP will lead the bench unit. He's averaging 15 points, five rebounds and five assists per 36 minutes, so if he gets around 28-30 minutes per game, he'll have a real case for the bench award.

Darren Hartwell, Managing Editor

White earns Defensive Player of the Year.

Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama will be heavily favored to win this award, which has gone to a forward or big man in 27 of the last 28 years. But White follows in the footsteps of the lone exception (2022 DPOY Marcus Smart) and leads all guards in blocks to take home the hardware.

Nick Goss, Web Producer

Brown wins All-Star Game MVP.

Brown will add it to his growing trophy collection that already includes an Eastern Conference Finals MVP and NBA Finals MVP trophy. The All-Star Game is mostly a joke, but there's always one guy who puts up a ton of points and runs away with MVP. Tatum did it in 2023 with an ASG-record 55 points. Brown will give a similar performance this season.

Justin Leger, Web Producer

If we're going bold and unexpected, let's roll with Derrick White for Defensive Player of the Year.

He finished eighth in the voting last season and earned his second consecutive All-Defensive selection. The best shot-blocking guard in the NBA is finally starting to get the respect he deserves, so perhaps this is the year his stellar defense is recognized nationally.

Kevin Miller, VP, Content

Jaylen Brown, All-NBA First team.