From honing his skills during a truncated offseason as the NBA navigated a global pandemic to the encore he’s delivering after earning a spot on the 2022 All-NBA Second Team, Jaylen Brown consistently returns a better player at the start of each campaign.

And while signing the most lucrative contract in league history over the Summer could’ve extinguished the inferno that fuels the three-time All-Star’s pursuit of his best self, he’s responded with a self-issued challenge to shoulder more responsibility and earn even greater trust from his teammates and coaching staff.

I think at the start of the year, I don’t think the coaching staff was looking at me to be more of a playmaker, but any time I get an opportunity and I get better, I wanted to prove and earn everybody’s trust and respect,” Brown voiced while discussing his growth as a facilitator earlier this season.

“I really worked in the offseason on developing my crafts. (I) take my game serious, and I just keep coming back, (and) getting better every year. I’m gonna just keep doing that.”

That includes the six-foot-six forward locking in more consistently on defense in the current campaign, tapping into his drive to maximize his abilities, a seemingly endless source of energy for him, and unleashing his athletic gifts to torment even the league’s best scorers.

A prime example was when he shut down Stephen Curry in the Boston Celtics’ 52-point drubbing of the Golden State Warriors. The two-time league MVP finished with four points on 2/13 shooting, faring 0/9 from beyond the arc.

“I don’t think the coaching staff saw me as more of a playmaker at the beginning of the season, but anytime I get a chance and I get better, I wanted to prove and earn everybody’s trust and respect,” Brown said in reference to his development as a facilitator earlier in the campaign.