“It just makes you zero in yourself,” Brown told FOX Sports. “You’ve kinda got to block out everything. It just teaches you in that moment, you can’t get too high or too low. I learned that right away from that instance. And then going from there, I don’t expect anything, any praise or whatever.”
Over the years, the criticism hasn’t quieted.
He’s mocked for not being able to drive left. He’s called the second-best player on the Celtics behind Jayson Tatum. He’s been involved in countless trade rumors and was temporarily moved to a bench role during the 2018-19 season. This year, he didn’t make any All-NBA teams despite the Celtics finishing No. 1 in the league in offense and No. 2 in defense. And after he penned the richest contract in NBA history last July, a supermax worth up to $304 million over five years, detractors ripped him for not being worth that kind of money.
“That’s just hard for me to believe,” Hall of Famer Rick Barry told host Joy De’Angela in an interview to promote the BIG3 League last August. “His average in the playoffs for them is 18.5 points a game. I mean, 18.5 points a game. And he’s going to make $69 million in the last year of his contract. But 18.5 points a game — that’s nothing! Seriously.”
For Brown, it has all taken a toll.
Celtics show no rust, dominate Mavericks in Game 1 of NBA Finals
But even that comment was met with skepticism and widely interpreted as gamesmanship by Kidd to stir up controversy in the Celtics’ locker room between Tatum and Brown, as opposed to just being genuine praise. Though, Jrue Holiday seconded Kidd, saying, “I don’t think he’s lying. I think JB has been aggressive in every single way.”
Brown knows that with his salary, expectations of him are through the roof. He and Tatum have failed to lead the Celtics to a championship, despite making six conference finals appearances. He understands he has to do better.
This postseason, he’s averaging career-highs in points (24.8) and field goal percentage (54.3) while also starring on the defensive end. He hopes things will finally be different.
On Media Day, when asked about the criticism he has received throughout his career, he responded by referencing a proverb. “The child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth.”
That’s how Brown is trying to approach every game — with unbridled fire.
And for Brown, it was the criticism that lit the spark.
“It allowed me to not care or not be affected by what anybody has to say because my first introduction was I got booed,” Brown told FOX Sports.
Melissa Rohlin is an NBA writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the league for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Times, the Bay Area News Group and the San Antonio Express-News. Follow her on Twitter @melissarohlin.
Get more from National Basketball Association Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
