The Boston Celtics have been taking a well-earned victory lap this summer after winning the 2024 NBA championship in June. But make no mistake: They'll be all business when October comes around.
Jaylen Brown, for example, was already back at work this past weekend, sharing photos of his intense underwater pool workouts in Bahrain. In a recent interview with NBC Sports Bay Area's Monte Poole to discuss the launch of Brown's Oakland XChange initiative, the Celtics star got straight to the point about his current mindset.
“Last year is over, to be honest," Brown told Poole, as seen in the video player above. "We celebrated, we had a good time, it’s been an awesome summer – I’ve been having a great summer, by the way – but it’s over with, and now it’s back to work."
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While Brown's summer began on a high note when he won NBA Finals MVP for his strong two-way performance against the Dallas Mavericks, it also included a snub -- the three-time All-Star wasn't chosen to replace the injured Kawhi Leonard on Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics (Celtics teammate Derrick White got the nod instead) and suggested his past criticisms of Nike (a Team USA sponsor) played a role in his omission.
That means Brown has some extra motivation to have a strong season, even after reaching the NBA mountaintop. He's also aware that Boston will get every team's best shot as the reigning champion -- and he welcomes the challenge.
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"Now we’ve got the target on our back," Brown told Poole. "Everybody’s trying to come after us, and I’m like, ‘Come on.’ So, it’s back to work and I’m looking forward to next season.”
No NBA team has repeated as champions since the Golden State Warriors in 2017 and 2018, but if any team is equipped to snap that streak, it's the Celtics. Boston's entire core from the 2023-24 season is back, and its two best players, Brown and Jayson Tatum, should be extremely motivated after the latter received surprisingly little playing time for Team USA at the Olympics.
If Brown's comments are any indication, that motivation has already kicked into high gear as the Celtics prepare for the start of training camp next month.
Check out NBC Sports Bay Area's Dubs Talk Podcast to hear more of Brown's conversation with Poole.