The Philadelphia 76ers have a number of new pieces that need to be integrated into an already solid nucleus. The Sixers were able to make some noise in the 2025-26 season as they finished with 47 wins, then rallied from a 3-1 deficit to eliminate the Boston Celtics in Round 1, before falling short to the New York Knicks in Round 2.
The Sixers then had a home run of a summer as they made a couple of big moves early in free agency, swung a deal to acquire Jaylen Brown from the Celtics, then landed LeBron James and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, before then hiring Phil Handy to be the team's assistant coach.
Handy has a ton of history with members of the Sixers as he has won titles with James with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016 and Los Angeles Lakers
in 2020. He also won a title with the Toronto Raptors in 2019 as an assistant under the guidance of coach Nick Nurse.
Brown is back in the gym preparing for the new season while also working with Handy on different dribble moves and jumpers in an effort to get ready for the challenges that will be presented.
Brown, a 5-time All-Star, averaged 28.7 points for the Celtics in 2025-26. He led Boston to a 56-26 record and the No. 2 seed in the East in what was supposed to be a "gap year" amid the injury to Jayson Tatum. He will now look to help the Sixers get over the hump in the East and reach the mountaintop for the first time since 1983.
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Sixers' Jaylen Brown working out with new assistant coach Phil Handy
