“Gotta Sell Your Soul,” Jaylen Brown Sneakily Disses Shai-Gilgeous Alexander and Other MVP Winners for Flopping

Boston Celtics star, Jaylen Brown, was brutally honest on "selling soul" to win the MVP on his live stream.

“Gotta Sell Your Soul,” Jaylen Brown Sneakily Disses Shai-Gilgeous Alexander and Other MVP Winners for Flopping

Jaylen Brown (Image credits - Firstsportz)

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Jaylen Brown is an avid streamer and is known for speaking his mind openly. The NBA has seen a new version of Brown this season. Following a long-term injury to Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics management deciding to trade Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday to free up their salary cap and, hence, breaking up their 2024 NBA Championship winning roster.

The current Celtics squad is not built to contend for an NBA championship. But without primary scorer, Tatum, Jaylen Brown has been on a tear in the 2025-26 campaign. The 2024 Finals MVP is averaging a staggering 29.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 4.9 assists while shooting at 49.6% from the field this season and recently crossed the 12,000-point mark in the regular season, making him the 14th Celtics player to achieve the milestone.

His remarkable form has kept the Celtics in a direct playoff spot as they currently sit at third in the Eastern Conference standings with a 15-9 record. Back-to-back 30-point games in wins against the Los Angeles Lakers and the Toronto Raptors from Brown have helped the club maintain a five-match winning streak at the moment.

While his numbers are remarkable and probably even deserves to be in the conversation for league MVP, it will be difficult for the Celtics star to compete against the likes of frontrunners like Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic and reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

During a live stream, Brown pointed that one needs to learn ‘flopping’ to be in the MVP conversations.

If you wanna be a great player, you gotta sell your soul. You gotta be a flopper. If you wanna be an MVP, you wanna be top of the top, you gotta sell your soul and just be a flopper. You all tell me, what do you want me to do? Y’all want me to be on that? I could do it.

A surprising opinion from Brown but it may not be far off as the current MVP Gilgeous-Alexander has often been accused of flopping and getting foul calls in his favor. The Oklahoma City Thunder guard averaged nine free-throws last season and is averaging 10 this year. Even previous MVP winners such as Joel Embiid and Giannis Antentokounmpo rely on free-throws to score more points. An interesting take from the 29-year-old.

Boston Celtics led by Jaylen Brown are on the rise

With so many key members from the championship-winning roster missing and a slow start to the season after losing their first three games, the critics and fans were quick to pounce on the Celtics. Many predicted the franchise would finish well below .500 and may end up in the bottom-half of the Eastern conference table.

Jaylen Brown
Jaylen Brown (Image credits – Sky Sports)

But things have taken a huge turn since. Brown has led the charge and even elevated those around him. After bouncing back significantly, Brown hit back at the critics and the haters.

We started off the season 0-3, they was posting all type of bulls**t. Tell them to post now. We won five in our last six, tell ’em to keep that same energy.

While they may not have the squad to contend for a championship this campaign, these are promising signs for head coach, Joe Mazzulla, as they look to contend in the future after the return of Tatum.

Can the Celtics win in the East if Jayson Tatum returns?

If Brown can continue to perform at an MVP level, the Celtics have a strong chance to qualify for the playoffs directly. While Tatum was expected to be ruled out for the 2025-26 campaign, he has provided some encouraging updates for Boston fans on his recovery from a torn Achilles tendon he suffered in the Eastern Conference semifinals against the New York Knicks last season.

Following Tatum’s recent update on social media, where he posted a picture of a potential return and captioned it “Soon”, NBA fans have been anticipating his return sooner rather than later.

Senior NBA writer for ESPN, Tim Bontemps, is optimistic of Celtics’ odds in the East if Tatum is 70% of himself.

Even if Tatum does manage to return in the next three months, it is hard to believe that the 27-year-old can find his rhythm and be in top condition for the playoffs. But if the six-time NBA All-Star can get anywhere close to his best, then no team in the East would want to face the 2024 champions.

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