Jaylen Brown dropped a family connection that links two of Boston’s biggest new arrivals, saying he and Patriots receiver A.J. Brown are cousins.
“What’s crazy is that we’re cousins,” Brown said in a video posted by NBC Sports Boston. “I didn’t know that.
My grandpa just told me. I think we’re cousins.
I don’t think he knows that either. His grandfather is brothers with my grandfather.”
Brown made the comment during an appearance at the 7uice Foundation’s Summer Bridge program at M.I.T., where he was speaking as a former Celtic. He and A.J.
Brown are both 29, both have won a championship, and both have ties to the South. Jaylen grew up in Marietta, Georgia, while A.J. was raised in Starkville, Mississippi.
Their paths also crossed early in college and pro basketball timelines. A.J. chose Ole Miss, where he was a freshman during Brown’s rookie season with the Celtics in the fall of 2016.
The two Browns each picked up titles in 2024. A.J. caught three passes for 43 yards and a touchdown in Super Bowl LIX in February, helping the Eagles beat the Chiefs 40-22. Jaylen followed that by winning NBA Finals MVP in June after the Celtics beat the Mavericks, putting up 20.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 5.0 assists across the five-game series.
Now both are in new places. The Celtics traded Jaylen to the 76ers last Monday for Paul George, a pair of first-round picks, and a pair of second-round picks. The Eagles sent A.J. to the Patriots last month for a first-round pick and a fifth-round pick.
That move gives the Patriots another weapon in a passing game that was already humming. New England led the league in completion percentage at 71.9 and yards per passing attempt at 8.8, finished fourth in passing yards per game at 250.4, and tied for sixth in passing touchdowns with 31.
The Eagles will head to Foxborough for joint practices with the Patriots on August 19 and 20, then the teams will meet in a preseason game on August 2022. Philadelphia is not on New England’s regular-season schedule.
The Celtics and 76ers, meanwhile, remain tied together in the same division and have met more often in the playoffs than any other NBA pairing. They’ve also played in the preseason in two of the last three years, though this year’s Celtics preseason schedule has not been released.
Boston’s offseason has been busy on both sides of the ball. The Celtics also added center Mitchell Robinson and point guard Mike Conley after blowing a 3-1 playoff series lead for the first time in franchise history against the 76ers this past postseason.
Philadelphia, in turn, brought in Jaylen to join Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, and First-Team All-Rookie selection V.J. Edgecombe.
So the family tree now runs through both cities. One Brown is trying to help the Patriots chase another Super Bowl. The other will likely be standing in the way if the Celtics want to get out of the East.
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