Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown has given the team a major injury scare ahead of the NBA playoffs.
Brown missed Friday night’s 130-94 victory over the Charlotte Hornets because of a sore right knee.
ESPN reported on Saturday that Brown, the reigning NBA Finals MVP, has recently been having injections to help manage the pain.
It’s thought Brown has a bone bruise but the issue has deteriorated in recent weeks, causing him to miss seven of the Celtics’ last 15 games.
In the two he did play, against the Washington Wizards and New York Knicks, he managed just 21 minutes in each.
His absence on Friday night also made him ineligible for postseason awards because he failed to reach the league’s threshold for number of games played.
Celtics star Jaylen Brown has given the team a huge injury scare with the playoffs approaching
Brown missed Friday night’s game against the Charlotte Hornets due to a sore right knee
With one regular-season game remaining, Brown has played in 63 and will fall short of the 65 that league set up two seasons ago.
The Celtics have already secured the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference behind the Cleveland Cavaliers.
They will play either the Orlando Magic or Atlanta Hawks, with that series to begin next week.
Speaking about his teammate’s injury, Kristaps Porzingis said: ‘He’s (Brown) a tough dude. He always preaches his warrior mindset. He lives by it. But to what extent do we need that right now?
‘Maybe he needs to take care of it and make sure he’s going to be ready for the most important moment.
‘I think we need to encourage him to make sure he does everything he needs to prepare to get it healthy and to prepare for what’s going to come.’
In 2023, Brown signed a $304million, five-year extension. The four-time All-Star was a member of the All-NBA second team in 2023.
