CAMDEN, N.J. -- For 10 years, Jaylen Brown was taught to despise the Philadelphia 76ers. After being selected by the Boston Celtics with the No. 3 pick in the 2016 draft, Brown was immediately sent into the rivalry that is Sixers-Celtics.
As Brown begins a new chapter with the Sixers and joins a team that features LeBron James, Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and VJ Edgecombe, the operative word is sacrifice. Everybody on this team will need to sacrifice in order to make all of this work. That means less shot attempts or a lesser offensive role or less minutes to sacrifice for the greater good.
It's something James is preaching and Brown is completely on board with the messaging.
"100%," Brown stated. "That’s what’s needed. It definitely takes sacrificing.
Like he said, sacrifice is a negative connotation, but it has its perks and its benefits. Any time you’re going for something great, something of high metric, it’s gonna take a level of sacrifice. That’s just a understanding of someone like him (James) who has been great all his life. He understands sacrifice at a high level and I agree with him."
As far as still processing the trade is concerned, Brown is putting his best foot forward. He is continuing to focus on what needs to be done so he and the Sixers can move forward. His time with the Celtics will be looked back on fondly, but he is just doing the best he can with this big adjustment.
"It’s phases for sure," Brown explained. "It’s a mental side, an emotional side, it’s a physical side. It’s a bunch of phase to getting comfortable and getting set up and it’s an adjustment. It’s new. Every day is a day forward. So, I’m just putting my best foot forward."
Brown was a 5-time All-Star with the Celtics, made an All-NBA Team twice, and won finals MVP in 2024 as the Celtics dispatched the Dallas Mavericks in five games. As he heads into a new situation, and an Oct. 10 preseason matchup in Boston looming, the star forward is putting his best foot forward and focus on what he does best which is uplift others.
"I’m taking it one day at a time," said Brown. "Obviously, things happen in this league. It’s a business. They have analytics and things that they go by, but I think what I value about this game is the human connection. To be able to bring people together. To be able to uplift your community and inspire people."
As long as Brown is able to push people to be great and to continue to learn new things himself, he will make himself at home with the Sixers.
"What I always preach is athletes are more than just items or stats on the sheet," he finished. "I think a large part of our game and how we measure stuff is being determined in that manner. I preach the human connection. How you uplift your community, you bring people together, and the players are influencers and arbiters of that and that’s what I like to use my platform for. I think we’re getting away from that."
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Jaylen Brown opens up on sacrificing, still processing trade to Sixers
