Jaylen Brown went back to Boston on Saturday night for the first time since the trade, and he previewed it on his own Twitch stream rather than at a podium.
“We about to preseason play the Celtics tomorrow. Interesting dynamic,” he said Friday. “It’s like running into your ex out in public, like damn, we used to go together, you feel me? Then you just look at them and just like, dang, and you just got to go about your business. It’s facts though. So, it is what it is, man. But I’m super excited.”
He Probably Did Not Play
Per ESPN and Zack Cox of the Boston Herald, Brown was not expected to suit up for the 8 p.m. ET preseason game at TD Garden. Nick Nurse had indicated Brown would play one of Philadelphia’s final two preseason games, and ESPN reported Saturday’s would not be the one. The 76ers were also expected to rest LeBron James, Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid.
So the emotional return is on hold until the regular season. Which makes the Twitch stream, not the game, the actual event.
The Trade, for Anyone Keeping Score
Boston sent Brown to Philadelphia on July 6, 2026 for Paul George, first-round picks in 2028 and 2031 and second-round picks in 2028 and 2030. Brown, who turns 30 on October 24, had signed a five-year extension with Boston in July 2023 worth up to $304 million, the richest contract in NBA history at the time.
He is now teammates with LeBron James, who signed with the 76ers in 2026 free agency on a reported two-year, $8 million deal, and with Embiid and Maxey. Brown reportedly helped recruit James to Philadelphia with what was described as a no-ego pitch.
A False Injury Report Made the Rounds
There is a wrinkle worth clearing up. In Philadelphia’s 114-108 preseason loss to Brooklyn on Thursday, Embiid fell backward into Brown as the two contested a rebound against Brooklyn’s Moritz Wagner. Brown grabbed his right knee, got up and finished with a team-high 18 points in 24 minutes.
A Facebook post from an account called Box Score PH then claimed he had suffered a season-ending knee injury. There is no credible reporting behind it and the 76ers have announced nothing. He is fine.
Tatum Answered
Jayson Tatum offered the short version from the other side: “His presence will be missed in the city and on our team.”
Eight years, a title, a Finals MVP and a trade for picks two drafts away. Brown is handling it by narrating it himself on a platform the Celtics do not control, which is a reasonable response to a franchise that moved him without asking.
What Comes Next
The regular season opens October 20. Philadelphia visiting Boston with both rosters at full strength is the game to circle, and when it arrives, Brown will not have to describe how it feels on a stream. He will just get to play it.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.