Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown has revealed his all-time starting five. His controversial list, leaving out one Celtics legend, has sparked a massive debate among NBA fans.

The Boston Celtics star sat down with Ahmad Rashad, and as the conversation shifted to the legends who inspired him, Jaylen Brown revealed his all-time starting five: “LeBron (James), Kobe (Bryant) and Michael Jordan – let’s start there. Then I’ll say Steph Curry and my 5? I’ll say, Bill Russell.”

The first three names are quite expected. LeBron James is the all-time leading scorer with 43,180 points, has had one of the longest NBA careers, starting at 19 in the 2003–04 season, and has helped shape the sport.

Michael Jordan is arguably the greatest of all time, as his influence continues to shape the game and inspire new generations of players like Jaylen Brown.

A five-time NBA champion, two-time Olympic gold medalist (2008, 2012), and 18-time All-Star, Kobe Bryant is also on Jaylen Brown's list.

The first three choices made perfect sense to fans, but what they didn’t expect were the last two names, Steph Curry and Bill Russell. The list took social media by storm, with fans debating over the stars Brown listed.

Fans go wild as Jaylen Brown reveals his ultimate starting five

Some fans showed up in support of Brown: “People will find a way to hate on this somehow,” said one fan. While the all-star team might look like a beast, another fan wasn’t convinced, “Bro chose Bill Russell out of pure obligation. Nobody is picking Bill Russell over Shaq.”

A take backed by the contrast between Russell’s 11 championships and defensive legacy and Shaquille O’Neal’s dominant career averages of 23.7 points and 10.9 rebounds per game.

Another fan backed Shaq over Bill, “Not a bad list at all… Still would put Shaq in there over Bill.” Meanwhile, another fan pointed out that Brown left one important player: Larry Bird. “Where’s Bird?” the fan commented.

Bird led Boston as the iconic rivals of the 'Showtime' Lakers, winning three championships, three MVPs, and two Finals MVPs in the 1980s.

Then again, Bird himself may not mind, as he put Jordan above himself. "I know in my time he was better than all of us," Bird said in a clip the NBA posted as a tribute to Jordan in 2022.

Finally, Bet365 US summed up Jaylen's take as “a mix of the modern and classic NBA, we respect it.”

The list certainly has depth, but do you agree? Tell us about your top five in the comments.

Read more at the Air Jordan Chronicles!

Written by

Suryakant Das

Edited by

Sagnik Bagchi