After the Boston Celtics shocked the NBA world and traded star guard Jaylen Brown to the rival Philadelphia 76ers, the former longest-tenured Celtic posted a lengthy goodbye to Beantown. It ended with a simple hashtag: "THROWTHEBALLUP."
Then, on Friday morning, NBA insider Shams Charania reported that four-time MVP LeBron James is headed to Philadelphia on a two-year, $8 million deal with a player option. Almost 15 minutes after James' decision, Brown went to Twitter (now known as X) to say the same thing he did when Boston sent him packing: "#throwtheballup." And while there's no exact definition for this phrase, it seems like Brown is emphasizing how ready he is to play and that once the ball is tipped, the game is all he's focused on.
James
has a similar mentality, and the 41-year-old said as much in a Twitter thread describing his thought process in joining the Sixers and delaying retirement.
"I still want to sacrifice," he began. "I still want to work. I still want to grind. I still want to compete, to win, and to have a chance at the feeling of winning another championship."
Although James is no longer in his prime, the 22-time All-Star had a fairly successful showing in the 2026 NBA Playoffs, helping the Los Angeles Lakers upset the Houston Rockets in six games before getting swept by the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder. He still has a little more left in the tank and wants another feather in his cap for his legacy, which he could procure by ending a 43-year NBA title drought in Philadelphia.
As for the Celtics, de facto general manager Brad Stevens will have to stand by the Brown trade he conducted in July. It could either further his reputation as a basketball guru who's ahead of the curve or make him the man responsible for supplying a hated foe with enough talent to put them over the top.
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This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Jaylen Brown shares familiar reaction to LeBron James joining 76ers
