​Jaylen Brown, the Star guard, is clearly within his rights to be stunned by the Celtics’ decision to trade him to their archrivals, the Philadelphia 76ers. He voiced that shock during a Thursday night Twitch stream, but he didn’t let confusion derail his commitments. Brown reaffirmed his dedication to supporting the Boston community, despite heading to Philadelphia and potentially clashing with the Celtics organization in the near term. He emphasized that he will carry on the foundations he started in Beantown, including plans to return to Boston soon to run his annual Bridge program that promotes educational empowerment.
“I still have obligations here,” Brown told a virtual audience of thousands. “I’ve got Bridge coming up; I’ll be here. This week, I’ll be engaging in some community work that I’m still committed to, and I look forward to doing more with Boston XChange and the 7uice Foundation, empowering the entrepreneurs in the city I’ve already begun supporting. We’re going to keep that going.”
Brown’s work, notably with Boston XChange and the 7uice Foundation, focuses on Boston’s Black community—an important but often underrepresented group in the city. The five-time All-Star has long connected with Roxbury, Dorchester, and other neighborhoods during his ten seasons with the Celtics, and he doesn’t want a trade to derail those efforts. “We want our partners, participants, and the entire Boston community to know this: our work is not ending. If anything, our responsibility to continue serving this city has only grown,” his foundations stated.
As Brown moves forward with his NBA career elsewhere, he also alluded to beginning community work in Philadelphia. Whatever unfolds on the court, his commitment to serving others off it remains a defining part of who he is in Boston and beyond. “To the community of Boston, I will never forget the years,” Brown proclaimed during the livestream. “I grew up here. I’m 29 now, about to be 30. I spent a third of my life here. I’m looking ahead to what comes next, while also cherishing the past, and the people I’ve met and the community that shaped me.”