NBA FINALS: CELTICS VS. WARRIORS

June 16, 2022

Jaylen Brown

Boston Celtics

Game 6: Postgame

Warriors 103, Celtics 90

Q. I know you guys getting this close, it's got to hurt. What do you think you're going to carry away from this?

JAYLEN BROWN: Man, I still got a lot to learn as a group, individually. As much as we made growth, turned our season around, still got a lot to learn about the game of basketball.

I learned so much during this playoff run. Coming from not playing last year after wrist surgery, coming into this year's playoffs just being grateful for the opportunity.

Stings to come up short, but there's a lot to learn and the future is bright.

Q. Was too much or not enough made of the experience level of this thing? Their sixth Finals in eight years. They know what to do, how to respond. Was that too much made of this or not enough?

JAYLEN BROWN: They won and we lost. We did it to ourselves. For sure, we had opportunities to go up and win. I guess we've shown our immaturity at times, and it stings.

Still a young group. Still got a lot to learn. Nothing to hang our head about. Tough day for Boston. Tough day for the Celtics.

Yeah, I don't know what to say.

Q. It felt like one of the big problems for you in the playoffs was the ball handling, taking care of the ball. How do you assess the strides you made in that area against the ways you fell short in controlling the ball? What is it going to take to improve in that area as a team?

JAYLEN BROWN: Just be better. Offensively, we were not good this series. Give credit to the Warriors. They forced us into doing stuff that we didn't want to do, and that resulted in turnovers, et cetera.

At times, we just got to be better. That's it.

Q. I think one of the really great things about the season was that you and Jayson Tatum reinforced your bond, killed the narrative you could not play together. What was your message for JT after this game and a tough series for him?

JAYLEN BROWN: Just gave him a hug, man. I know it was a tough last game. I know, obviously, it was a game we felt like we could have won.

It stings that we kind of didn't play to our potential. This game, the last game on our home floor.

But it is what it is. You got to learn from it and move on. As tough as it is, it's been a great year, been great journey. The start of the season nobody thought we would be here. Two games away from doing something special.

Yeah, everyone's like, Man, we really could have done it, really had the opportunity. Yeah, we did. Just wasn't our time.

Q. When do you allow yourself to step back and start to realize how far you guys have come and everything you were able to accomplish this season?

JAYLEN BROWN: I don't know. Everybody else, individual, is different. You know, give yourself a day or two. Wake up, things feel a little bit different.

Yeah, this is probably going to stick with us for a while. Like you said, it's about the bright spots. I'm proud of how this team has been resilient all season long. From what people were saying about us a couple months ago to what people were saying about us recently, it was night and day.

This team had a lot of resilient guys, a lot of guys that responded to adversity. It was tough. We put ourselves in the position to be in the NBA Finals. That's something to be proud of.

I'm just grateful to be able to experience this with a great group of guys. It was fun.

Q. You talked a lot about on a daily basis the learning curve, learning from the losses, from the wins as well. Do you feel like you learned what you needed to to get back to this opportunity? It's sudden, but how do you feel the future looks for you and your teammates to get back to this? Do you think that hunger will burn inside you to get back here?

JAYLEN BROWN: Absolutely. The future is bright. I always look at adversity as opportunities to shape an individual. For whatever reason, it wasn't our time. That means we still got a lot to learn. Personally, I still got a lot to learn.

For me, it's always about growth. Continuing to get better, continuing to find different ways to lead. That's what it's about. The future is bright. I'm excited to get back next year.