Jaylen Brown doesn't believe in the "rookie wall".
After taking a 3-2 series lead over the Cavs in the Eastern Conference Finals on Wednesday, Brown dispelled the myth of a rookie wall post game.
"Everybody doesn’t hit the rookie wall," Brown said via Kyle Hightower of the AP. "I don’t think Ben Simmons or Donovan Mitchell hit one either. I don’t think Jayson Tatum did.
Brown who's in the midst of his second season in the NBA has been a key part of the Celtics quick development over the past two years. He and rookie Jayson Tatum have stepped up in a major way with all-stars Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward out of the lineup.
If there ever was a rookie wall, Brown never hit it as his averages jumped post all-star break in his inaugural season. As for Tatum, he passed Jack Skima for fourth all-time for most points scored by a rookie in the postseason with his team-high 24 points in Game 5.
Most Points by Rookie in Postseason
— Kevin Parrish Jr (@KevinParrishJr) May 24, 2018
1970 Lew Alcindor 352
1976 Alvan Adams 341
1959 Elgin Baylor 331
2018 Jayson Tatum 312
Rookie Donovan Mitchell averaged 24.4 points per game and his first-time all rookie teammate Ben Simmons posted 16.3 points, 9.4 rebounds and 7.7 assists. Both had solid debut playoff runs - giving credence to Brown's comments.
"I don't even believe that exists," Brown added via Jay King of The Athletic. "I just think that's a barrier of society the basketball world puts in place for you to slow down."
"If you come into the league thinking you're going to hit one, you limit yourself."