The Boston Celtics are one of several successful teams in the NBA’s history. Sometimes, people ignore Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. But they work in silence, and since they took the throne in 2024, it has worked. Stephen A. Smith of ESPN ranked the Celtics’ players as one of the NBA’s top duos as a consequence.
Smith listed his top five pairings in the league on Sunday. He began in fifth position, at the bottom. The ESPN analyst brought up Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler of the Golden State Warriors. Despite their disparate playing styles, he says the Warriors have benefited from the interplay between the two players.
At the fourth spot, Smith picked the Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard. The longtime media personality said that Antetokounmpo is playing like an MVP candidate and Lillard has been a reliable threat from deep.
His third-best duo in the NBA is the Denver Nuggets’ pair of Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. According to Smith, the experience the two players have makes them one of the best star teammates. Smith’s picks for second place are LeBron James and Luka Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers. The recent stretch of success from the Lakers has put them in an ideal place in the Western Conference as the second seed.
However, Smith named Tatum and Brown as his top choice for the best duo. However, he didn’t choose the Boston Celtics because of their recent championship win. The media personnel said this about his choice.
“The Lakers rolled in to TD Garden in Beantown last night and got kicked the hell outta town, that’s why.”
.@stephenasmith names his top five duos in the NBA 💪
Do you agree with these rankings? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/IntoFHnqjQ
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) March 10, 2025
On Saturday, the Celtics took care of business and snapped the eight-game win streak of their oldest rivals, 111-101. Boston prevented the Lakers from winning their two-game regular season series with a 1-1 record.
How did the Boston Celtics duo perform against the Lakers?
The Boston Celtics duo silenced the visiting team with their outstanding performance on Saturday. Tatum took the lead with his 40-point display. The 6-foot-8 forward shot 42.9% from the field and added 12 rebounds, eight assists and two steals in their win. His co-star, Brown, also took the chance to shine against the Lakers.
The 6-foot-6 forward finished the game with 31 points, six rebounds and three steals. Brown shot 52% from the field and 50% from deep. Boston’s dynamic duo were two of the four players who recorded double-digits in scoring.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
