Jaylen Brown walked off the court in Boston on May 2 with a loss that stung. The Celtics had just fallen 109-100 to the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 7, ending their season. At the time, it was just another bitter playoff exit. But now that Brown wears a Sixers uniform, his postgame comments from that night read less like a defeated opponent and more like a future teammate scouting his own squad.
Brown didn’t hold back on what made the Sixers dangerous. He pointed to Paul George, who had just turned 36 and still shot the hell out of the ball. He brought up Tyrese Maxey doing what he does all year. And he spent a long time on Joel Embiid.
“We just didn’t really have an answer for Embiid in the games that he played,” Brown said. “He just was a problem for us.”
That much was obvious. Embiid gutted through an appendicitis scare — Brown actually called it “appendicitis or whatever you call it” — and still wrecked Boston’s game plan. The Celtics, supposedly the No. 2 seed, looked lost against him in stretches.
But Brown also made sure to credit the guy on the sideline.
“Give credit to Nick Nurse, give credit to Philadelphia,” he said. “They got better. They’ve gotten better throughout this series. They’re playing good basketball right now. Defensively, I thought they were very, very sound.”
That quote matters more now than it did in May. Brown is joining a team whose head coach he openly respected after getting bounced by him. That’s not nothing in a league where egos can derail a locker room before the season starts. If Brown already trusts Nurse’s system and acknowledges the talent around him, the transition should be smoother than some people might expect.
What Brown Said About the 76ers’ Game Plan
Brown broke down the series in specific terms. He made it clear the Sixers didn’t play like a seven seed. That was partly because of George, who shot efficiently all series and caused problems in his matchups. He also mentioned that Embiid’s availability changed everything.
“Obviously we didn’t know if he was going to be able to play because of his appendicitis,” Brown said. “But I think that made the difference.”
He’s right. The Sixers went from a team missing its anchor to one that had the most unstoppable player on the floor for five or six games. That shift decided the series.
Brown’s willingness to call that out publicly, even in a loss, shows a level of honesty not every star offers after a Game 7 defeat. Some guys default to clichés. He went straight to the specifics.
How This Affects Brown’s Fit in Philly
There’s always a question when a star joins a new team: will he buy in? Brown’s own words suggest the answer is yes. He doesn’t have to pretend to respect Nurse or the roster — he already said it on record. That kind of early buy-in matters when training camp starts and the grind sets in.
The Sixers have Embiid, Maxey, George, and now Brown. That’s four guys who need touches and shots. But if the newest arrival already sees the value in how Nurse runs things and how his teammates play, the chemistry issues might be smaller than the internet thinks.
Brown’s final game as a Celtic ended with him praising the team he’d eventually join. That’s the kind of irony that writes itself. But it’s also the kind of detail that makes you think the fit might actually work.
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