Jaylen Brown has had a whirlwind summer, taking on new adventures and a new team
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Where in the world was Jaylen Brown this summer?
En garde! Brown suited up and took fencing lessons in Italy.
You wanna ring the bell? Brown wore headgear during his boxing debut in a sparring session in Lagos, Nigeria.
The air up there made Brown dab some tears in a plane before he conquered his fear of heights and went skydiving in Egypt.
U.S. Olympian Michael Andrew and his training partner found a GoPro at the bottom of the ocean in Hawaii. They turned it on and watched the video and, sure enough, there was Brown out surfing before he lost the action camera.
“I just love to learn,” Brown said. “I’m a curious human being.”
The one city Brown surely did not expect to visit — make that, move to — just two seasons after he was the 2024 NBA Finals MVP and led the Boston Celtics to a championship was Philadelphia.
No electronics were safe this summer.
He lost his GoPro by accident. He chucked his phone across the room in anger when he learned he was traded to the Sixers.
The 29-year-old Brown — already a five-time NBA All-Star with $185 million remaining on the then-record, five-year, $304 million contract he signed with Boston in July 2023 — admitted he needed time to process his emotions of leaving the only team he played for over his first 10 seasons.
Brown feels at home in Philadelphia
Brown was part of Boston’s potential trade offer to Milwaukee for Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was sent to Miami. Brown had spoken in previous years about how he’s felt disrespected by both media and pundits around the league for what he’s achieved during his career.
Trade rumors did not sit well with Brown. Neither did stories of tension between Brown and star Celtics guard Jayson Tatum.
Weeks into his tenure with the Sixers, Brown feels at home in Philly.
He's a playful teammate on his Twitch streams (recently comparing favorite Nickelodeon and Disney shows with second-year Sixer VJ Edgecombe). He's been a team leader and set a veteran example for players such as rookie first-round pick Labaron Philon Jr.
Brown is "someone that I look up to in a way where it comes to like, how you take care of yourself, how you prepare for games, how you break down film, just anything like that,” Edgecombe said.
Much like Brown made it work with Tatum, he again must figure out how to adjust his game now that he's part of perhaps the most talented starting five in the NBA.
Now that he's playing with LeBron James. And Joel Embiid. Oh, don't forget Tyrese Maxey.
The four All-Stars in the lineup — James and Embiid are league MVPs — have bristled at the idea that much of anything will have to change to the detriment of their games as they try and lead the Sixers to their first NBA championship since 1983.
Success in Philly will take ‘sacrifice’
Maybe they won't all score as much as their career averages. Will it matter if they win?
“Sacrifice is a negative connotation,” Brown said, “but has its perks and its benefits. Any time you're going for something great, some high metric, it's going to take a level of sacrifice.”
Or perhaps look at it this way. How hard will it be to guard Brown while defenses are keying on James, Embiid and even Maxey?
With Tatum playing in only 16 games during the regular season while he rehabbed from a ruptured Achilles tendon, Brown averaged career highs in 2025-26 in points (28.7), rebounds (6.9) and assists (5.1) while finishing sixth in MVP voting.
“I think the opportunity to lead. I think that was my best experience last year,” Brown said. “Just being able to galvanize the guys. There was outside expectations and being able to internally set out expectations and kind of motivate our guys to come out and compete every single night, I think some of that is going to be carried over. This group is different, so you've just got to be ready for any and everything.”
Little did Brown know his presence was enough to help sway four-time NBA MVP and four-time NBA champion James, leading to the free agent signing with the Sixers weeks after the Celtics trade.
Brown just about participated in an Olympics-worth of events over the summer. He's ready for his biggest adventure yet, in Philadelphia.
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