Among the Philadelphia 76ers' loaded offseason of blockbuster moves, the trade to acquire Jaylen Brown from the rival Boston Celtics may have surprised fans even more than LeBron James' decision to join Joel Embiid and company. After all, Brown and the Celtics just saw their season end at the hands of the 76ers in brutal fashion, blowing a 3-1 series lead.
Over the years, Brown, Jayson Tatum, and the Celtics have had plenty of incredible back-and-forth matchups with Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and the 76ers, and of course, they featured plenty of trash talk. Apparently, old habits die hard for Embiid, and while he recently praised Brown during an ESPN segment, the 32-year-old big man couldn't help but throw a lighthearted jab at his new teammate.
"I've
had a lot of battles with him," Embiid said of Brown. "One thing that I've always respected is how competitive he is. Even when we came back down 3-1 against them last year, he took the challenge of guarding me. He knew he had no chance of getting a stop, but I guess the other guys couldn't do it...he knew before, but you still gotta try and find out."
Joel Embiid on Jaylen Brown:
— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) October 1, 2026
"I've had a lot of battles with him. Even when we came back down 3-1 against them last year, he took the challenge of guarding me. He knew he had no chance of getting a stop but I guess the other guys couldn't do it. He knew before, but you still… pic.twitter.com/ZQihutbVUl
Embiid wouldn't really be Embiid if he didn't get a quick jab in there at his now-teammate. And to make things even stranger, we could see some public trash talk from Embiid and Brown directed at the Celtics, or at least we can hope that's the case.
Unfortunately, fans of both teams will have to wait a few weeks before we see Brown square off against his old team. The first meeting between the Sixers and Celtics in the 2026-27 season will be on Tuesday, November 10, in Philly. However, the 76ers and Celtics will play two preseason games on Saturday, October 10, and Friday, October 16, but it's unlikely we'll see much from either team's starters.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Joel Embiid still can't stop trolling Jaylen Brown despite 76ers team-up
