To an athlete, the adulation of a peer holds more weight than that of a fan or analyst. And when the peer happens to be the greatest of the generation, the praise ought to mean even more.

As Jaylen Brown was basking in the praises Tuesday night after being named Eastern Conference Finals MVP, he got a special shoutout from “The King” himself.

🫡 @FCHWPO!!! Keep going Young 👑! RESPECT!

— LeBron James (@KingJames) May 28, 2024

James anointing Brown “Young King” is symbolic since the latter — alongside Jayson Tatum —has dominated the Eastern Conference since James departed for the Lakers in 2018.

The Celtics duo has made deep postseason runs in four of the six years since James left the conference. Brown, in particular, has been dominant in the Eastern Conference Finals, for which he has set several scoring records.

Brown has arguably been Boston’s best overall player in the ongoing playoffs, averaging 25.0 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists while shooting a team-high 54.1 percent from the field (minimum 30 shots).

In the Eastern Conference Finals against the Pacers, Brown averaged 29.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals, for which he was rewarded with the 2024 Larry Bird Trophy.

After being handed the trophy, Brown told reporters he “wasn’t expecting it at all” as he’s constantly been overlooked for All-NBA and other honors. He admittedly plans to use all the snubs as motivation and refuses to do any celebration until the Celtics hang banner No. 18.

“As time has gone by, and I’ve gotten to this point, I stopped caring [about awards],” Brown told reporters. “I don’t care who sees what, as long as my team knows my value, my city knows my value, my family, that’s all I really care about. But I like to set my hat on just being a versatile two-way wing and can do both at any point in time. The last four minutes of this game [on Tuesday], you saw that.”

That Brown doesn’t care about anything but the ultimate prize bodes well for Boston’s title chances.