Celtics Jaylen Brown says hes okay after terrifying spill on dunk

Sometimes having a headache represents just about the best possible outcome. Such was the case with Jaylen Brown on Thursday, after much worse was feared for the Boston Celtics small forward when he took a terrifying tumble to the court.

In a game at the Minnesota Timberwolves, Brown drove down the lane late in the third quarter for a two-handed dunk, but he was unable to hang onto the rim long enough to allow his momentum to swing back toward the court before he let go. Instead, a completely off-balance Brown appeared to land neck-first — upon closer inspection, his upper back and shoulder took the brunt of it — in a spill that shocked everyone at Minneapolis’s Target Center, as well as viewers from afar.

Brown lay on the court for several minutes, giving onlookers plenty of time to both fear the worst and hope fervently that it hadn’t come to pass. Citing his experience as an announcer for NFL games, TNT’s Kevin Harlan immediately surmised that Brown had been “concussed,” and the Celtics announced later that the second-year player was being evaluated for concussion-like symptoms.

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Medical personnel brought out a stretcher, but Brown was eventually able to get to his feet with some assistance, and he walked off the court to a standing ovation in Minnesota. After the game, a 117-109 Celtics win, Brown tweeted that he was “okay,” albeit with “a headache.”

Appreciate everybody I'm ok .. Got a headache tho 🤕 good team win !!

A number of NBA players watching on TV took to Twitter to express their concern for Brown and relief that he was able to walk off the court. After his concussion test, Brown was reportedly taken to a hospital for a CT scan and other evaluations.

Prayers sent to you right now and up Jalen Brown!!!! Glad to see you walk off on your own 🙏🏾

Prayers up for the homie @FCHWPO . Glad my guy was able to walk out on his own 🙏🏽

Happy to see *Jaylen Brown walk off 🙏🏽

Just saw the play...prayers to Jalen Brown. 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

“We’re so close as a group, and we’ll make sure Jaylen is okay,” Boston’s Kyrie Irving said in a postgame interview. “It’s a hard thing to watch, as a fan, as a player, so all our well wishes go to Jaylen.”

“It was just tough to see. I was just happy that he was able to get up and walk on his own power,” teammate Al Horford said. “That’s probably one of the worst falls I’ve seen.”

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Some were reminded of a similar play in 2010, one that wound up causing Andrew Bogut, then with the Bucks, serious injuries. After taking a nasty spill on a dunk against the Suns, the center suffered a broken right hand, dislocated right elbow and a right wrist sprain, and he missed the rest of the season.

The Celtics clinched a playoff spot with their win Thursday, but their minds were on Brown. Many of his teammates noted how rarely they had seen a fall that severe after a dunk, making his ability to get up afterward all the more impressive and heartening.

“For him to get up, that’s a strong kid,” Boston’s Marcus Smart said. “Took everything he had. We were just happy to see him on his feet and walking off on his own.”

In just over 28 minutes against the Timberwolves, Brown had 14 points, five rebounds and a plus/minus of +14. He came into the game averaging 14.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.0 steals, all marked improvements over the numbers he posted in his rookie season, after the Celtics made him the third pick in the 2016 draft.

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