Jaylen Brown Faces Boston First. History Already Did.

By the 76ers Nightly Desk · Friday, October 9

Philadelphia is 0-0 and plays Boston twice in the next week, first on the road Saturday, then at home on October 16. Jaylen Brown faces the team he spent his career with, four months after the 76ers sent Paul George and four draft picks to get him this summer.

76ers Nightly artwork — Illustration by Hoops Nightly.

Why does a preseason game against Boston carry extra weight?

Because the two sides have been doing this since the Nationals days. Boston bounced Syracuse and Philadelphia from the playoffs repeatedly through the 1950s and 1960s, including a 1953 game that went four overtimes and still stands as the longest in NBA history. Saturday is preseason, worth nothing in the standings, but the rematch on October 16 is the one that starts building real film on this roster against a team that went 56-26 last season.

What does Jaylen Brown have on the line against his old team?

Nothing in the score, everything personal. Brown spent his career with Boston before Philadelphia traded Paul George and four draft picks — two firsts, two seconds — to get him this summer. Saturday he's back in the building he used to call home, which is its own kind of answer before he scores a point.

Does last season's gap between these two teams matter here?

On paper, yes. Boston's net rating sat at +8.3 last season on a 56-26 record; Philadelphia's was -0.1, with 45-37 and a second-round sweep to show for it. But Jayson Tatum played only 16 games for Boston last season, and the Embiid-Maxey-Brown-James group hasn't faced anyone yet, let alone a team that finished 11 wins ahead of them.

Who's actually available for Philadelphia this weekend?

A moving target. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was cleared October 1 after being questionable. Tacko Fall went from out to questionable that same day with a left-side hip problem and still isn't fully cleared, and Adem Bona has been questionable with a foot and leg issue since September 17 with no update since. Camp is still sorting out who's actually healthy.

Does any of this move the needle on the title drought?

Not yet, and that's the point of this stretch. Philadelphia hasn't won a title since 1983, when Maurice Cheeks started at point guard, and putting Embiid, Maxey, Brown and James on one roster is the clearest run this franchise has made at ending that drought in years. Two preseason games against the rival that beat Barkley's rookie-year team in five games in the 1984-85 conference finals won't settle anything, but the tape will matter once the games are real.

The verdictSaturday is measurement, not revenge — nothing here counts until the rematch on October 16, let alone the regular season. But every minute Brown and James log against the team Brown used to play for is the first real look at whether this roster can do what no Sixers team has done since 1983.

Have the 76ers and Celtics always been rivals?

Yes — Boston repeatedly ended Syracuse and Philadelphia's seasons in the division finals through the 1950s and 1960s, including a four-overtime game in 1953 that's still the longest in NBA history.

Is Jaylen Brown playing against his former team this week?

Yes, twice — Philadelphia plays at Boston on October 10 and hosts the Celtics at home on October 16, both preseason games.