The NBA announced the Players of the Month for the Eastern and Western Conference and Boston Celtics wing Jaylen Brown was beat out by another JB, New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson.
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guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson have been named the Kia NBA Western and Eastern Conference Players of the Month, respectively, for games played in December. pic.twitter.com/GnBHdAM9ML
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) January 2, 2026
Brunson had a great month, capped by an NBA Cup title early in December, but bias aside, Brown was robbed.
Brown had an extraordinary month. He scored 30+ points in nine straight games, and the one game he didn’t, he had a triple-double. He averaged 31.7 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game and led the Celtics to a record of 8-2 in the games he played in.
Other nominees…
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) January 2, 2026
West: Deni Avdija and Shaedon Sharpe (POR), Stephen Curry (GSW), Luka Dončić, LeBron James and Austin Reaves (LAL), Kevin Durant (HOU), Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle (MIN), Cooper Flagg (DAL), De’Aaron Fox (SAS), Keyonte George (UTA), Nikola Jokić (DEN) and… https://t.co/Si2FpR2NXL
Overall, Brown has made an extraordinary leap this season. His playmaking has taken a leap and his mid-range scoring is among the best in the NBA. Brown took the most two-point field goal attempts per game in the league during the month of December, 16.5 per game, shooting 57% on those shots.
According to Cleaning the Glass, he assisted on 25% of Celtics points this month, including 5 games in which he was over 27%.
Brunson may not have been the best player on his own team. Karl-Anthony Towns was one of the other nominees for the award and he does more heavy lifting with the Knicks offense than anyone on Boston (apologies to Derrick White) does behind Brown. He rebounded better than Brunson did. He was better defensively than Brunson was. He made more shots per game (11.4) than Brunson did (10.8). Brown shot 54% from the field, while Brunson shot 48%. The Celtics had a better record in the month than New York did as well, Boston was 8-2 in games Brown played in while New York was 10-3 in games Brunson played in.
In a season where Jayson Tatum has yet to take the floor, Brown has not only kept the Celtics afloat, but has them thriving. At 21-12, Boston is 3rd in the Eastern Conference and looks like they could be a real contenders in the playoffs.
His leap has been unbelievable and in the best month he ever had as a pro, he deserved to win Eastern Conference Player of the Month. This will only make the chip on his shoulder bigger. So, let the disrespect continue, let people keep sleeping on this team, and keep doubting the Celtics and the former Finals MVP. It is only going to make it sweeter when they knock them out.
