Jaylen Brown didn’t exactly pour cold water on the idea of a Celtics-Sixers grudge match. If anything, he left the door wide open.
At his introductory press conference with the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday, Brown spoke directly about Jayson Tatum and made it clear there’s still respect there, even if the dynamic has changed. He said:
"We won a championship together. So, anybody that you win a championship with, you would think like that's what a brotherhood or lifelong legacy would entail.
Obviously, there are ups and downs in any type of relationship for sure. But on my end, it's nothing but respect, you know?
Besides when he plays the Sixers, you know, I hope he does well. Other than that, everything for me is just based in respect."
Brown also said he and Tatum have not had any contact since the trade.
That alone is enough to crank up the temperature around this one. The two shared a title and, by all appearances, had been close for much of their run together. But now Brown is wearing Sixers colors, and the first time he lines up against Boston next season figures to carry extra edge.
From the Celtics side, the whole thing has to sting. Brown was an MVP candidate a season ago, and after a first-round playoff flop, Boston moved him to a rival without a heads-up, getting back an aging star who hasn’t made an All-Star team in years. That’s a brutal sequence for Celtics fans to digest.
For Philadelphia, though, Brown’s comments sound like exactly the kind of tone the Sixers want heading into 2026-2027. He’s not pretending there’s no history.
He’s not pretending the trade doesn’t matter. And he’s certainly not pretending the Celtics are just another opponent.
The Sixers are also banking on Brown to help steer a major turnaround after being swept in round two by the New York Knicks. Last season in Boston, Brown played 71 games and put up 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game while shooting 47.7% from the field and 34.7% from three.
Now he joins a star-heavy starting five that will include Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, and LeBron James.
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Nurses update matters because the Sixers do not need a reminder of how different the team looks when Embiid is healthy and moving well. For now, the early read on the offseason is encouraging, and that alone gives the organization some badly needed optimism heading toward the new season. The real test, of course, will come once the games start and the grind begins to look a lot more like the one that has challenged Embiid in recent years. [Read more 🡒]
Grant Williams Just Eased A Big 76ers Fear About Jaylen Brown
Grant Williams helped calm one of the lingering concerns around Jaylen Brown this week, offering a firsthand view of what Brown and Jayson Tatum were like during their time together in Boston. Williams, who shared the Celtics locker room with both players from 2019 to 2023 before he was traded to the Mavericks, said their relationship was respectful and positive on and off the court, a detail that matters because Brown has long been viewed through the lens of how he might fit with Philadelphia if the 76ers ever circle back.
For the Sixers, the bigger issue has never just been Browns talent. Its whether the personality and basketball fit would hold up in a new setting, especially with the rumors that have followed him because of his ties to Tatum and the Celtics recent years of title-chasing. Williams comments do not answer every question about a potential move, but they do take some of the edge off the concern that Browns dynamic with a star teammate would be a problem in Philadelphia. [Read more 🡒]