Jaylen Brown didn’t need long to make his new team look dangerous.
In his first preseason game wearing a Philadelphia 76ers uniform, Brown scored 22 points in just 17 minutes, shooting 8-of-13 from the field and 3-of-5 from three-point range.
Then he sat down.
The Philadelphia 76ers went on to beat the defending champion New York Knicks 120–97, and they did it without three of the biggest names on their roster: LeBron James, Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.
For a preseason game, that’s about as loud of an opening statement as Philadelphia could have wanted.
And for Boston Celtics fans?
They might want to look away.
Because Brown, the player Boston surprisingly sent to Philadelphia on July 1, already looked completely comfortable in his new home.
Boston Let Him Go. Philadelphia Wasted No Time Showing Why It Wanted Him.
Jaylen Brown isn’t some player trying to prove he belongs in the NBA.
He’s a five-time All-Star and the 2024 Finals MVP. Last season, he averaged a career-best 28.7 points per game.
So Philadelphia wasn’t acquiring Brown hoping he could become a star.
The Sixers were acquiring him because he already was one.
The question was how quickly he would fit into a completely different situation.
That answer arrived almost immediately.
With Embiid, Maxey and LeBron all sitting out, Brown became Philadelphia’s primary offensive weapon against New York.
And he looked like he had been there for years.
Brown scored 13 points in the opening quarter, attacking defenders from different areas of the floor. He hit a contested baseline jumper, attacked the rim and showed off the midrange game that has become one of his biggest weapons.
Then came the second quarter.
More threes.
More tough shots.
More pressure on the Knicks defense.
By halftime, Brown had 22.
His work was done.
He Didn’t Need LeBron, Embiid or Maxey Beside Him
This might actually be the part Philadelphia fans should be most excited about.
Brown’s debut wasn’t boosted by having every superstar around him.
Quite the opposite.
Three of Philadelphia’s biggest offensive weapons didn’t play.
LeBron James didn’t play.
Joel Embiid didn’t play.
Tyrese Maxey didn’t play.
Brown still became the focal point of the offense and looked comfortable carrying the scoring load.
That’s important because there will be nights during the regular season when Philadelphia won’t have its entire roster available.
Injuries happen.
Rest happens.
Matchups change.
And teams need players who can create offense when the original plan falls apart.
Brown showed that Philadelphia has someone capable of doing exactly that.
The Knicks Were Supposed to Be the Test
There is another reason this debut grabbed attention.
Philadelphia wasn’t playing some random preseason opponent.
The Sixers were facing the defending NBA champion Knicks.
New York brought much of its championship lineup onto the floor, including Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, while Philadelphia was missing several of its major stars.
And yet Philadelphia controlled the game.
The Sixers led 72–58 at halftime and never gave the Knicks much of a chance to turn things around.
Of course, nobody should be handing Philadelphia the championship trophy because of one preseason game.
But that’s not really the point.
The point is that the Sixers looked dangerous even without their full arsenal.
And Brown was the biggest reason why.
Then VJ Edgecombe Joined the Party
Brown wasn’t the only Sixer who caught attention.
VJ Edgecombe looked extremely comfortable handling the ball, finishing with 12 points, four rebounds and seven assists while committing zero turnovers.
That combination could become fascinating.
Brown is an established star who can create his own shot.
Edgecombe is a young guard who can push the ball, create opportunities and get teammates involved.
Against New York, Edgecombe didn’t have to dominate the scoring.
He helped Brown.
That could be exactly what Philadelphia needs.
When Brown has the ball, Edgecombe can attack.
When defenses collapse on Brown, Edgecombe can make the next pass.
And when Embiid, Maxey and LeBron eventually join the mix, Philadelphia suddenly has a lot of offensive options.
That’s where this roster starts becoming scary.
But Philadelphia Has One Problem Nobody Is Talking About Enough
There was one ugly moment in the victory.
Ariel Hukporti suffered a non-contact injury in the first quarter and had to leave the game. Head coach Nick Nurse said afterward that Hukporti had suffered a right Achilles injury and would undergo imaging.
That’s worth watching.
Philadelphia already had other players unavailable at the center position, including Joel Embiid and backup big man Adem Bona.
Jabari Walker stepped in and responded with 11 points and 11 rebounds, helping Philadelphia survive the situation.
But if Hukporti’s injury proves serious, Philadelphia could suddenly have another problem to solve.
And that matters because the Sixers aren’t building this roster just to have a fun regular season.
They’re trying to compete in a brutally difficult Eastern Conference.
What Boston Has to Be Thinking
Here’s where this story gets spicy.
Boston didn’t simply lose a good player.
The Celtics traded away a player who had become one of the defining faces of the franchise.
Now Brown is wearing a Philadelphia uniform.
And his first appearance produced 22 points in 17 minutes.
It’s obviously far too early to declare Boston made a mistake.
Preseason basketball can be misleading.
But Celtics fans know exactly what Brown is capable of when he’s healthy and aggressive.
They’ve watched him develop from a raw young player into an All-Star and Finals MVP.
Now they’re going to have to watch him try to do the same thing for a conference rival.
That’s a completely different kind of pressure.
Philadelphia Suddenly Has a Very Different Identity
For years, the Sixers have been built around Joel Embiid.
Now the roster has a different feel.
Embiid is still the centerpiece when healthy.
But Brown gives Philadelphia something it desperately needs around him: another elite scorer who doesn’t need everything designed around him.
Then there’s Maxey.
Then LeBron.
Then Edgecombe.
Suddenly, Philadelphia has multiple players who can create offense.
And Brown’s debut offered an early glimpse of what that could look like.
The most impressive part wasn’t even the 22 points.
It was how easy those 22 looked.
Don’t Get Too Carried Away — But Don’t Ignore This Either
Let’s be honest.
It’s preseason.
The Knicks weren’t playing for a championship.
The Sixers weren’t either.
And several major players weren’t even on the court.
So nobody should look at one 120–97 victory and start predicting an NBA Finals matchup.
But that’s also not a reason to ignore what happened.
Brown looked sharp.
Edgecombe looked confident.
Philadelphia’s supporting cast competed.
And the Sixers managed to dominate the defending champions despite missing three of their biggest names.
That’s a pretty interesting first look.
The real test comes when the games start counting.
Is Jaylen Brown About to Have His Best Chapter Yet?
That’s the question Philadelphia fans should be asking.
Brown has already won a championship.
He’s already been an All-Star.
He’s already been a Finals MVP.
But Philadelphia may give him something Boston couldn’t anymore:
A completely new challenge.
He isn’t trying to prove he’s good enough to play alongside another star.
He’s entering a roster loaded with stars and trying to figure out how all of them can fit together.
And if Monday night was any indication, Brown isn’t going to need much time to adjust.
He arrived in Philadelphia with enormous expectations.
His first performance answered them with 22 points.
Now imagine that same player sharing the floor with Embiid, Maxey and LeBron.
That’s when this experiment gets really interesting.
Because if Jaylen Brown can look this comfortable without Philadelphia’s other stars…
What is this team going to look like when everybody finally plays together?
