Celtics’ Jaylen Brown may need knee surgery

Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics gets up off of the court after a play by the New York Knicks during the first half of Game Five of the Eastern Conference Second Round NBA Playoffs at the TD Garden on May 14, 2025 in Boston, Massachusetts. Brian Fluharty/Getty Images/AFP

Four days after Jayson Tatum underwent surgery on a torn right Achilles tendon, ESPN reported on Saturday that fellow Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown has a partially torn right meniscus and might also require surgery.

Per the report, the 28-year-old Brown, who averaged 22.1 points and 7.1 rebounds in 36.5 minutes per game during the NBA playoffs, played the last month of the regular season and the postseason with the injury. Brown will undergo tests this week to determine whether he needs surgery.

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Brown had undergone pain injections in his right knee beginning in March, ESPN previously had reported. The four-time All-Star sat out the last three games of the regular season but played in every game in the postseason.

“I don’t make excuses,” he told reporters after Friday’s season-ending road loss to the New York Knicks in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

“Obviously, it’s tough the way we went out like tonight, but the way we finished the year, personally, the way I finished the year, persevering through some physical stuff that I was battling through, I’m proud of our group.”

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The Celtics lost Tatum late in the Game 4 loss to the Knicks, while Kristaps Porzingis wasn’t at 100 percent this spring due to an undisclosed illness.

Finishing his ninth season, Brown – the No. 3 overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft – appeared in 63 games and averaged 22.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and a career-high 4.5 assists over 34.3 minutes.

For his career, Brown has posted averages of 19.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 30.6 minutes in 603 games (496 starts).