Jaylen Brown recently revealed an unexpected name as the toughest player he’s ever had to guard — former San Antonio Spurs sharpshooter Marco Belinelli.
During a Twitch livestream with popular streamer PlaqueBoyMax at the Celtics’ practice facility, the Boston All-Star was asked which opponent had given him the most trouble in his decade-long NBA career. Brown didn’t hesitate.
“Hardest player to guard? Marco Belinelli,” he said. “He used to light me up. He never stopped moving, and I had to chase him all game. Our system was to follow him through all these screens sometimes he didn’t even have the ball, but he’d keep running, so you never knew when he’d suddenly take off at full speed.”
Brown has faced some of the NBA’s most elite scorers, from LeBron James and Kevin Durant to Kyrie Irving and James Harden, but his description of Belinelli’s relentless movement could just as easily apply to guarding Steph Curry.
Perhaps Brown wanted to avoid naming an active player he might have to defend next season, as Belinelli has been out of the league since 2020.
Over his career, the Italian guard averaged 9.7 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.7 assists on 42.4% shooting, with a reputation for spacing the floor. Despite being known as a dangerous shooter, Belinelli hit 37.6% from three solid, but not elite by statistical standards.
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