
Jaylen Brown
2025–26
NBA player comparison
This is a model estimate for the selected season. Its lineup adjustment also draws on earlier seasons; it is not a measurement of this season’s teammate improvement.

2025–26

2025–26
Jayson Tatum's estimated impact per 100 possessions was +2.3, compared with +1.3 for Jaylen Brown. This compares their impact while playing, not their total contribution across the season. Both players are compared in the 2025–26 season using its published Impact Rate. A ranked comparison requires at least 450 minutes for each player.
Jaylen Brown: 71 games and 2,443 minutes. Jayson Tatum: 16 games and 522 minutes. Playing time matters when judging the whole season; the impact estimate above is a rate, not a season total.
Jaylen Brown ended a larger share of his team’s possessions, so the turnover rates are not an equal-workload comparison. Offensive usage measures the share of team plays a player ends with a shot, free throws, or a turnover while on the court—not every touch, pass, or act of playmaking. These rows provide context; they are not extra points added to the ranking.
Regular season only. Impact figures are estimates; small gaps are not exact. Playoffs, awards and titles do not determine the verdict.
Behind the estimate
The model starts with each player’s recorded individual stats, then adjusts that estimate using lineup results. The first two rows add up to the final estimate. All figures are points per 100 possessions.
Lineup evidence: Jaylen Brown — 3 seasons; Jayson Tatum — 3 seasons. This adjustment is not necessarily based on the selected season alone.
These selected-season estimates account for who played alongside and against each player. Positive means better than average; a positive defensive figure means fewer points allowed. They are separate estimates—not additional points added to the calculation above. They do not measure how much individual teammates improved.
What this does not establish: these figures do not prove that either player made his teammates shoot better. The observed with/without results below answer a different question and do not change the ranking. A small difference in the estimates is not a decisive basketball distinction.
Full comparison · 2025–26 season
Start with impact, then compare playing time and skills. Team results add context. These are not categories to tally into a winner.
1 · Ranking evidence
The impact estimate compares performance while playing, not total contribution over the season. The individual-stat estimate plus the lineup adjustment gives the final estimate.
| Metric | Jaylen Brown | Jayson Tatum |
|---|---|---|
| Season impactEstimated points per 100 possessions above that season's league average | +1.3 | +2.3Better result for this metric. |
| Season impact rank | #75 | #15Better result for this metric. |
| From recorded individual stats | +1.55 | +2.03Better result for this metric. |
| Adjustment from recent lineup results | -0.30 | +0.24Better result for this metric. |
Jaylen Brown: 3 seasons of lineup evidence. Jayson Tatum: 3 seasons of lineup evidence. The adjustment is not necessarily based on this season alone.
| Metric | Jaylen Brown | Jayson Tatum |
|---|---|---|
| Final estimated impact | +1.25 | +2.27Better result for this metric. |
2 · Playing time and responsibility
Read games and minutes alongside impact. Offensive usage is the share of team plays a player ends with a shot, free throws, or a turnover while on court. More usage is not automatically better.
| Metric | Jaylen Brown | Jayson Tatum |
|---|---|---|
| Games | 71 | 16 |
| Minutes | 2,443 | 522 |
| Offensive usage | 36.2% | 30.0% |
3 · Individual skills
These figures describe the selected regular seasons. They provide context, not extra points added to the verdict. Green marks the better result for a metric, including lower turnover rates. Workload and shot-selection measures stay neutral. These rows are not votes toward the ranking.
True shooting includes two-pointers, three-pointers, and free throws.
| Metric | Jaylen Brown | Jayson Tatum |
|---|---|---|
| True shooting percentage | 57.3%Better result for this metric. | 54.1% |
| Metric | Jaylen Brown | Jayson Tatum |
|---|---|---|
| Field-goal percentage | 47.7%Better result for this metric. | 41.1% |
| Three-point percentage | 34.7%Better result for this metric. | 32.9% |
| Free-throw percentage | 79.5% | 82.3%Better result for this metric. |
| Three-point attempt rateShare of field-goal attempts taken from three; describes shot selection, not quality | 26.2% | 49.8% |
Assist rate is the share of teammates’ made shots assisted while the player is on court. Read turnovers alongside offensive workload; lower turnover rate is generally better.
| Metric | Jaylen Brown | Jayson Tatum |
|---|---|---|
| Assist rateShare of teammates’ made shots assisted while on court | 25.9%Better result for this metric. | 25.1% |
| Assists per game | 5.1 | 5.3Better result for this metric. |
| Metric | Jaylen Brown | Jayson Tatum |
|---|---|---|
| Turnover rateLower is better; compare alongside offensive workload | 12.7% | 10.8%Better result for this metric. |
Rebound rate is the share of available rebounds collected while on court.
| Metric | Jaylen Brown | Jayson Tatum |
|---|---|---|
| Rebound rateShare of available rebounds collected while on court | 11.1% | 16.8%Better result for this metric. |
| Rebounds per game | 6.9 | 10.0Better result for this metric. |
Steals and blocks describe only part of defense. They do not capture every stop, rotation, or matchup.
| Metric | Jaylen Brown | Jayson Tatum |
|---|---|---|
| Steal rate | 1.5% | 2.1%Better result for this metric. |
| Metric | Jaylen Brown | Jayson Tatum |
|---|---|---|
| Block rateShare of opponents’ two-point attempts blocked while on court | 1.1%Better result for this metric. | 0.6% |
Points per game describe scoring volume, not overall impact.
| Metric | Jaylen Brown | Jayson Tatum |
|---|---|---|
| Points per game | 28.7Better result for this metric. | 21.8 |
4 · Team context, not ranking inputs
These are observed results, not adjusted model estimates. Different teammates, opponents, injuries, and substitutions can explain some of the difference. They do not establish cause and effect or change the ranking.
| Metric | Jaylen Brown | Jayson Tatum |
|---|---|---|
| Change in team scoringPositive means more points scored; not adjusted for lineups | -0.36 | Unavailable |
| Improvement in team defensePositive means fewer points allowed with him; not adjusted for lineups | -5.88 | Unavailable |
| Teammate shooting differencePercentage-point difference, not relative percent change; not proof of causation | +2.4% | Unavailable |
Incomplete samples. Jaylen Brown: 2,414 of 2,443 recorded player minutes covered (98.8%), and 1,436 minutes without him. Jayson Tatum: sample unavailable. Missing minutes are not zero. Minute coverage is not a possession count.
| Metric | Jaylen Brown | Jayson Tatum |
|---|---|---|
| Team scoring — with himPoints scored per 100 possessions | 120.8 | Unavailable |
| Team scoring — without himPoints scored per 100 possessions | 121.2 | Unavailable |
| Points allowed — with himOpponent points per 100 possessions | 114.5 | Unavailable |
| Points allowed — without himOpponent points per 100 possessions | 108.6 | Unavailable |
| Teammate shooting — with himWeighted same-teammate shooting percentage, with extra credit for threes | 58.6% | Unavailable |
| Teammate shooting — without himUses the same teammates and weights as the with-player row | 56.2% | Unavailable |
We exclude the player’s own shots and compare the same teammates with and without him. Each teammate needs at least 100 minutes in both situations. Both averages use the smaller of each teammate’s two minute totals as the weight. Three-pointers receive extra credit. Differences are percentage points, not relative percentage increases. This is an average of teammate rates, not pooled team shooting.
Sample retrieved 2026-10-12. Source rates are rounded.
These account for who played alongside and against each player. Positive defense means fewer points allowed. They are separate from the observed results and are not additional points added to the model calculation.
| Metric | Jaylen Brown | Jayson Tatum |
|---|---|---|
| Adjusted offensive impact | +1.17 | +1.31Better result for this metric. |
| Adjusted defensive impact | -1.27 | +0.62Better result for this metric. |
Four separate questions
These are different ways to understand a career. Only Regular Season Impact determines the hussEyquation verdict. The other three sections add basketball context without adding points or changing the rank.
Career to date. At least one player is active. Every total below stops after the latest completed season in this data; nothing is projected.
Jayson Tatum has the higher model estimate for the 2025–26 season.
This is the ranking result. It uses regular-season impact only. Team records, playoffs, and awards do not change it.
The advantages are split across the available measures.
Context only. Not included in Career Impact Rank. Final records for every listed team-season. A traded season can include more than one team.
Jaylen Brown leads every available measure below.
Context only. Not included in Career Impact Rank. Team playoff results count only seasons when the player appeared in a playoff game.
Jayson Tatum leads every available measure below.
Context only. Not included in Career Impact Rank. Major regular-season honors are recognition, not inputs to the impact ranking.
Source and scope Basketball Reference, NBA seasons 1950–51 through 2025–26, accessed 2026-10-09. Active-career totals are results to date through the latest completed season in the source.
Selected seasons
Both bars show the same NBA season. Missing or unqualified data does not establish a winner.
Estimated points per 100 possessions above that season's league average
Striped bars mark seasons with fewer than 40 games. A dashed mark means that player had no season at the aligned point.