Jaylen Brown Admits He Was ‘Programmed to Hate’ Philly. Now He Has to Undo That.

Jaylen Brown is not doing the typical “I’ve always dreamed of being a 76er” thing. He’s too honest for that.

During a livestream Thursday, the newly acquired wing flat-out admitted that his decade-long rivalry with Philadelphia left him wired to dislike the city and its team. And now he has to consciously unlearn that. Which is a weird position for a guy who just signed on to be part of the franchise.

“For the last 10 years, I’ve been programmed to like hate Philadelphia,” Brown said. “From the history of the rivalry to the playoff battles, all of them.’The Process.’ I’ve been programmed to be like, ‘Man, fu*k ‘The Process.’” He chuckled a little when he said it. “I gotta like reverse engineer. That’s the part that’s going to take some time.”

He’s not wrong to feel that way. The Celtics-Sixers rivalry is one of the nastiest in the NBA, stretching back to the Wilt-Russell days. Brown lived through the Joel Embiid years, the playoff series where he and Boston knocked Philadelphia out multiple times. Most recently, the 2026 postseason saw Brown’s Celtics blow a 3-1 series lead and lose to the Sixers in the first round. That stings.

But now he’s on the other side. The 29-year-old former Finals MVP was traded to Philadelphia this offseason in a deal that shook the East. He’s coming off an MVP-caliber season with career-highs across the board and an All-NBA Second Team nod. He carried Boston to the second seed. And then they lost to the team he now plays for.

Old grudges, new uniform

Brown made it clear he’s not looking for a soft landing. He said he wants to earn the respect of the Philly fanbase the hard way. “I don’t want no special treatment, I don’t want no hand-outs,” he said. “I don’t want no extra privilege. … I’m planning to earn the respect one day at a time.”

That’s smart. Philly fans are famously unforgiving, and they remember every playoff loss to Boston. But they also love guys who show toughness. Brown seems to understand he can’t just coast on his résumé from the other side of the rivalry.

The Sixers now have a loaded roster. Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey are the established stars. VJ Edgecombe, the rookie, adds another explosive scorer. Brown won’t have to carry the same load he did in Boston. But don’t expect him to take his foot off the gas.

He admitted the transition will be awkward at first. “The hard part is for the last 10 years, I’ve been programmed to like hate Philadelphia,” he repeated during the stream. That programming doesn’t flip overnight. But he’s also excited. He called the city tough and said he’s looking forward to playing in that environment.

Brown’s honesty is rare in these situations. Most players give the polished media answer about being grateful for a new start. He basically told everyone, “I have to actively retrain my brain to stop hating you.” And then said he’d earn their trust anyway. That’s either going to win over Philly fans completely or make them scrutinize every slow start. Probably a bit of both.

Either way, it’s going to be interesting to watch a guy who spent a decade as an enemy try to become a folk hero in the same city.