Jaylen Brown held his first press conference as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday afternoon at the Francis Myers Recreation Center in Southwest Philadelphia, a little more than a month after the Boston Celtics traded him to a division rival. The session was pushed back to 2:15 p.m. ET and ran about 25 minutes in a gym with no air conditioning, with roughly 50 kids lined up at the door and signage for Brown's foundation on the walls.
Boston agreed to send Brown to Philadelphia on July 1 in exchange for Paul George, first-round picks in 2028 and 2031, and second-round picks in 2028 and 2030. The deal became official July 6.
"It's been a lot of emotions," Brown said. "You know what I mean? It's been a process. To be honest, I'm still processing to some degree. Just, you know, one, the excitement of coming to a new city, new place, new expectations, new energy, then also leaving somewhere that you've been for a very, very long time.
"Like, I've been in Boston for 10 years," Brown added. "I'm 29 years old, so I was there a third of my life. You know, I met some people, some lifelong friends and people I'll still be connected to. But in anything that you're starting new, it's the end of something else. So it's just a process."
Thursday was the first time Brown addressed reporters since the trade was reported, outside of his own social media channels and his livestream.
"Just like everybody else has to deal with certain things, it's no different," Brown said. "But yeah, it's just been public, so that's the only difference."
Ten Years in Boston
Brown averaged a career-high 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 5.1 assists last season and earned All-NBA Second Team honors for the second time in his career. He is a five-time All-Star and was named Finals MVP in 2024, when Boston beat the Dallas Mavericks for the title. Boston drafted Brown, who turns 30 in October, third overall in 2016.
"I look back at the city of Boston and I'm grateful," Brown said. "I've been able to develop as a man, as a human being there. Spent a lot of time in the community, a lot of time at university studying, learning, figuring out how I wanted to go about my philanthropy, figure out how I wanted to approach how to carry myself. A lot of my most important years, my most developmental years as a young man, I spent in Boston.
"I got there at 19, so I didn't do a four-year degree because I left early," Brown continued. "So I spent time — I got my degree in Boston, in a sense. I spent time there. So the relationships are still there. The connection is still there. I'm looking forward to continuing my foundation work, as well as expanding it here to Philadelphia."
The Celtics won 56 games last season and took the second seed in the Eastern Conference with Jayson Tatum sidelined until March 6 by a torn Achilles. They led Philadelphia 3-1 in the first round and lost Game 7 at home. Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens has since pointed to the roughly 70% of the salary cap tied up in Brown and Tatum as a factor in the decision to trade Brown.
"But I'm very grateful for my experience, my tenure in Boston," Brown said. "Ten years is a perfect cycle, perfect number for completion. So we won a championship, and I have nothing but respect for the city of Boston. But now it's time to move forward a little bit."
Boston tried to move Brown and two unprotected first-round picks to the Milwaukee Bucks for Giannis Antetokounmpo before the Philadelphia deal. Milwaukee sent Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat instead. Brown never requested a trade out of Boston. On his livestream this week, Brown said he had been disrespected in the process by people he thought valued him.
"The whole process," Brown said. "But to be honest, my mind is so focused on what's in front of me. To be honest, I'm moving on. Maybe one day we share the details of kind of how everything transpired and all the moving parts that took place in this. Obviously, it's a lot of speculation. I feel no need to chime in on it, 'cause I'm focused on what's in front of me."
Brown is owed $57 million this season, with $61 million and $64.9 million on the final two years of his contract.
Jaylen Brown when asked if he has talked to Jayson Tatum since being traded to Philadelphia:
— Underdog NBA (@UnderdogNBA) August 6, 2026
"Not really."pic.twitter.com/BCKp4D5eXh
First Calls From Philadelphia
Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe were among the first 76ers to contact Brown after the trade was reported July 1.
"Man, who was the first one?" Brown said. "I'm not even sure. When I first got traded, I just threw my phone across the room.
"But who was first?" Brown continued. "It might have been Max. I think Maxey reached out to me first. He reached out and was like, 'I know it's a lot of stuff going on right now, but we're excited to have you,' and stuff like that. Maxey and VJ was probably around the same time. But I would say that."
LeBron James announced his decision to sign with Philadelphia on July 24, three weeks after the Brown trade was reported. The signing became official two days later.
"We talk, get in there every day almost," Brown said. "We got like group chats, multiple now, and then we all trying to figure this thing out. LeBron — he's active in the group chat, so we just trying to all get on the same page. I think everybody knows how incredible the opportunity that we have, but we also gotta put in the work."
Joel Embiid
Brown called Joel Embiid a flopper on a livestream in May, days after Philadelphia eliminated Boston. Embiid called him the day the trade was reported.
"Joel, it's been good," Brown said. "Me and Joel have been friends throughout the years, have mutual respect. I know he loves soccer. I love soccer, and so we talk about that a lot and stuff like that. He reached out too when I got traded. He reached out the same day. I talked to him on the phone.
"So I'm looking forward to earning everybody's trust and respect, and grinding and impacting winning," Brown added. "That's what I've done my whole career. I plan on doing the same thing here."
VJ Edgecombe
Edgecombe, the third overall pick in the 2025 draft, turned 21 on July 30. He started all seven games of the first-round series against Boston and averaged 38.4 minutes.
"I think VJ's in a similar situation to maybe that I was a couple years ago, when we had like some of those rosters that were really stacked with a decent amount of talent, and I looked at it like a learning opportunity," Brown said. "You know what I mean? Some of those moments that I learned from back then with the players that I played with — Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward, Kemba Walker, etc. — some of that stuff I've benefited from later in my career, because I took the time to learn, and talk to, and watch their workouts, and see their mentality and their approach, take things that they do well and add it to my game, and just keep an open mind.
"So I'm gonna be on VJ all year to just like learn and grow," Brown explained. "He's 21, he just turned 21. So he's got a bright future. This could be a great opportunity for him to learn from a bunch of guys. And then also, it's his talent level. He's gonna carve out space for himself just 'cause of his talent level alone."
In Game 2 at TD Garden, Edgecombe scored 30 points and grabbed 10 rebounds on 12-of-20 shooting, including 6-of-10 from 3-point range, in a 111-97 win. He became the youngest player in playoff history to reach 30 points and 10 rebounds in a game, passing Magic Johnson. Brown scored 36 points with 7 rebounds and 4 assists in the same game. Edgecombe put up 23 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists on 8-of-17 shooting in Game 7 on May 2, when the 76ers won 109-100 in Boston.
"So I'm excited for VJ, and I'm a fan," Brown said. "He killed us in that series. It was a lot of the other guys we knew about, but he was the difference maker a lot of times we played him in those series. So I'm a fan from afar, for sure."
Usage in the Starting Five
Philadelphia's projected starting lineup pairs Brown with James, Maxey, Embiid, and Edgecombe. Embiid is a two-time scoring champion. Maxey finished fifth in the league in scoring last season. James averaged 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 7.2 assists in 60 games and shot 51.5% from the field.
"My focus is winning," Brown said. "So I mean, obviously, other people's focus may be scoring and other — my focus is going into every practice, every meeting, every shootaround, every film session is like, how do we win night in and night out? So sometimes that may change, sometimes it may look different.
"But whatever it takes — at this point in my career, nothing else really moves me," Brown added. "Like, I don't really care about the outside success. I never did. You know what I mean? I don't care about the MVP awards or the Finals MVPs. None of that stuff really moves me. It's nice, but the only thing that's gonna move me is doing something collectively, so a championship. So that's what I'm looking forward to, trying to start that journey and building towards."
Brown carried a career-high scoring load in Boston last season with Tatum out until March.
"But all the other stuff that comes along with it is just a distraction to me," Brown said. "Like, whatever it takes on a night-to-night basis, it's like whatever it takes."
The Roster Mike Gansey Built
Mike Gansey replaced Daryl Morey as president of basketball operations in May. He signed Dean Wade and Ariel Hukporti when free agency opened, traded for Brown on July 1, added Anfernee Simons on a two-year deal worth $12.3 million with a player option, and signed James on July 24 to a two-year contract worth $3,876,529 this season with a $4,070,355 player option for 2027-28. Philadelphia drafted Labaron Philon Jr. at No. 22 overall.
"I think they did a great job," Brown said. "I think they did a great job. You know, obviously, on paper we're excellent, I think so. We have a lot of talent compared to other teams in the league.
"But I've been around a long time, long enough to know that just what you have on paper don't really mean nothing," Brown continued. "It doesn't really — it can, if you put the work in, but also, if you allow distractions, if you allow the media to get into your locker room, if you allow certain things and the personalities don't work, it can be a detriment."
Francis Myers
The 76ers held the introduction in a recreation center gym rather than at their practice facility or arena, with a team backdrop set up alongside signs for Brown's foundation.
"For me — and people who know my family and I — we are rooted in the community," Brown said. "That's where we hang our hat, is being able to affect other people's lives.
"I think we're very blessed," Brown explained. "I think we've been able to help our own family and be able to kind of change the course of what our generation, our family name could possibly do. But we look forward to being able to impact others and being able to touch families and households that we may never get to see."
Brown has said he plans to expand his foundation work from Boston into Philadelphia.
"So being here at Francis Myers is, you know, as I'm still getting to learn this community, I just wanted to make it important that this was an important pillar in my life and community and the foundation," Brown said. "And as I'm getting started on a journey and embarking on a journey here in Philadelphia, the introduction, your first impression is everything."
Philadelphia has not won a championship since 1983 and has not reached the Eastern Conference finals since 2001. Brown is scheduled to throw out the first pitch at the Philadelphia Phillies game Thursday night.
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