Finals MVP Changes NBA Team

Jaylen Brown's time in Boston has come to an unexpected end. The Celtics have decided to trade him to one of their most storied NBA rivals.

Brown – the 2024 NBA Finals MVP, a five-time All-Star, and the league's fourth-leading scorer last season – is being traded by the Celtics to the Philadelphia 76ers, a person with knowledge of the terms of the deal said Wednesday.

Boston receives Paul George in return, as well as a series of draft picks that could evolve into two first-round and two second-round picks.

ESPN first reported the trade agreement, with the terms later confirmed by the Boston Globe.

Blockbuster Trade in an Eventful Offseason

This acquisition joins the list of spectacular trades the NBA has seen so far this offseason.

LeBron James is leaving the Los Angeles Lakers as a free agent, and now this trade joins a long list of deals involving All-Star players – such as Giannis Antetokounmpo, who moved from Milwaukee to Miami, Kawhi Leonard and Brandon Ingram, who were at the center of an exchange between the Toronto Raptors and the Los Angeles Clippers, and Ja Morant, who was traded from Memphis to Portland.

"Welcome to Philly, JB!" posted Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro on social media. "The Sixers are getting much better, and as a bonus, the Celtics got worse!"

End of a Successful Era in Boston

This trade ends the partnership of one of the league's most successful offensive combinations, consisting of Brown and Jayson Tatum, who led the Celtics to the 2024 NBA title.

Tatum missed the majority of last season due to an Achilles tear that occurred during the 2025 playoffs. This meant Brown had to carry an even heavier load for Boston – and he achieved career highs with averages of 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game.

It seemed, however, that Brown felt undervalued, especially after it became known that Boston had mentioned him in trade discussions with Milwaukee when Antetokounmpo was on the market.

"Nobody has won more regular season and playoff games since I entered the league ten years ago," Brown posted on social media over the weekend.

He's right: The Celtics have won 523 games with Brown in the lineup, including playoff games, which is six more than Denver has won with Nikola Jokic during that period.

A New Trio in Philadelphia

Brown will now be part of a team in Philadelphia, alongside guard Tyrese Maxey and center Joel Embiid – someone Brown recently referred to as a "flopper" in a livestream.

"Joel Embiid is a great player, one of the best big men in damn basketball history," Brown said. "Flopper? He knows that. That's not new news."

Brown, Maxey (the league's fifth-leading scorer last season), and Embiid (a two-time NBA scoring champion) could form an absolutely formidable trio in Philadelphia.

That the Celtics are playing a role in the formation of such a trio only adds to the speculation as to why they wanted to give up Brown in the first place.

George's Disappointment and a New Era for the Sixers

The trade ends a two-year, extremely disappointing spell for George, who was traded with two years remaining on his four-year, $212 million contract.

The 36-year-old George never reached his nine-time All-Star form in Philadelphia, and his tenure was overshadowed by a 25-game suspension last season due to a failed drug test.

He averaged only 16.7 points in his two seasons in Philadelphia, after previously scoring over 20 points for nine consecutive seasons with Indiana, Oklahoma City, and the Los Angeles Clippers.

Brown is the latest big name signed to form a strong team with All-Stars and franchise cornerstones Embiid and Maxey.

Brown can try to lead the Sixers to their first title since 1983 – a feat that a steady stream of stars from Ben Simmons to James Harden to George couldn't accomplish when they formed a "Big Three" with Embiid and Maxey.

Paul George's Injury Problems

George cited psychological reasons as the cause for his failed drug test and the resulting suspension in late January for violating the terms of the NBA's Anti-Drug Program.

His first year in Philly was overshadowed by knee and adductor injuries, leading the forward to experience one of his worst NBA years.

George averaged 16.2 points in only 41 games, his lowest scoring average in a full season by far since he averaged 12.1 points for Indiana in his second NBA season. He then underwent surgery on his left knee in July after injuring himself during a workout and missed the first twelve games of last season.

Reunion After Playoff Duel

This was the first blockbuster deal under new team president Mike Gansey, who replaced the ousted Daryl Morey.

Morey was dismissed after the Sixers failed to advance past the second round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs under him. Last season, they were swept in the second round by the eventual NBA champion Knicks – but only after they had rallied from a 3-1 deficit to eliminate Boston in the first round.

"Philadelphia is a good basketball team," Brown said after the Game 7 loss to the 76ers, unaware that he would join them just a few months later.

His task will now be to make this good basketball team even better.