July 04, 2026
Eric Hartline/IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Can Jaylen Brown put the Sixers over the top?
Between the pure shock stemming from the trade that sent five-time All-Star Jaylen Brown to the Sixers and nine-time All-Star Paul George to the Boston Celtics, the off-court questions that continue to be asked and the large-scale conversations about where two rival franchises are headed, there has been little discussion since Wednesday's news about how Brown and George are going to impact their new teams once the season is underway.
In Brown, the Sixers have a polarizing new franchise cornerstone. He has become the face of basketball's newest debate of analytics; traditional counting numbers indicate he is a superstar and advanced metrics suggest he is overrated. Brown has been treated as a controversial figure off the court, too; he is outspoken politically and also gives questionable quotes on livestreams. He has become a lightning rod in many ways.
More than anything else, though, Brown is a basketball player – one radically different from George. It has been a long time since the Sixers had a player like Brown. What can he bring to this team that it has not had before? How can he leave his own mark on the Sixers?
In the first of two film breakdowns examining Brown, a look at his best and most bankable skills as he arrives in Philadelphia:
Brown is a true three-level scorer off the dribble – a pretty remarkable thing given his strengths and weaknesses coming out of college. He has always been an elite athlete, and in the NBA has become extremely strong. That blend of speed and power has made him incredibly difficult to match up with in any one-on-one situation.
One of the primary criticisms of Brown – and a major reason his analytical profile is not as strong – is because he often is at his best functioning on his own. Brown is not much of a creator for his teammates. At the same time, Brown is not reliant on his teammates to score. To some degree, that can be attributed to pure shot-making talent. After entering the NBA a poor shooter, Brown has become one of the absolute best in the world at knocking down tough shots:
Jaylen Brown is one of the NBA's boldest when it comes to taking and making tough off-the-dribble jumpers: pic.twitter.com/mUeIDOgn8Z
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) July 4, 2026
Brown's ability to make something out of nothing with his high-arcing mid-range jumpers should be particularly helpful for the Sixers when their offense stalls and the shot clock dwindles. The Sixers are clearly making a concerted effort to be less reliant on Joel Embiid moving forward; for all of the ways Brown's game may take some time to mesh with Embiid's, he will unquestionably raise the floor of the Embiid-less Sixers by capably soaking up so many possessions with self-creation.
Ultimately, though, Brown is likely every other player in the history of basketball: he is more efficient when he is operating on script. Since his ongoing streak of seven consecutive seasons with at least 20 points per game began, Brown is a 35.6 percent three-point shooter on 6.4 attempts per game. He is just fine from beyond the arc, not outstanding – but probably has more shooting talent than that number indicates given how tough most of those attempts are. Some of that is about Brown's own shot selection, to be clear, but some of it is about his role in an offense including plenty of self-creation and end-of-shot-clock work.
Brown is as reliant on one-on-one scoring as any top-flight bucket-getter in the NBA, and it is where the vast majority of his value comes from. But he has the perfect blend of capabilities to be an immensely tough cover night after night. He is too strong for guards. He is too fast for bigs. Only so many people have the requisite blend of mobility and strength to avoid either being bullied or blown by. And, as Sixers fans know all too well, Brown is adept at using off arm to create space, too; a heightened focus on those plays from officials hurt Brown during the Sixers' first-round series win over Boston.
At the epicenter of Brown's mid-range prowess: bumping. He is at his most comfortable playing off bumps, which he utilizes to create separation before rising up for jumpers. Brown is comfortable bumping against defenders of all sizes, as guards do not have the strength to withstand the impact of his shoulder and bigs struggle to handle them because they are off-balance.
Jaylen Brown is set to bring his bumps and off-arm extensions to the Sixers: pic.twitter.com/bwOfs9fBML
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) July 4, 2026
Examples of Jaylen Brown's comfort playing with bigs guarding him on the perimeter: pic.twitter.com/2ehjwcNcgo
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) July 4, 2026
Brown has very simple and easily repeatable shooting mechanics. He does a great job of squaring his shoulders on turnaround jumpers. That has unlocked one of the more reliable self-creation scoring attacks in the NBA – as has Boston's pristine floor spacing:
If the Sixers can establish their spacing even close to as well as the Boston Celtics do, it will allow Jaylen Brown to thrive as a one-on-one scorer: pic.twitter.com/QPkb4H8zMF
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) July 4, 2026
Moving forward, the Sixers' three-point shooting will be even more important than it once was, as high-caliber spacing is paramount to Brown being at his best. Signing Anfernee Simons was a strong start, and more help will be necessary. That Embiid is generally guarded when camped out on the perimeter bodes very well for the Sixers in this regard.
MORE: Learning about Simons, Caleb Love, Rayan Rupert upon joining Sixers
Some refer to Brown as one of the NBA's elite two-way players, and the truth is his defensive value lags far behind what he brings to the table on offense. But to be fair, what is most visible on defense – guarding the ball – is where Brown is at his best.
As an off-ball and team defender, Brown can get caught sleeping, beaten on cuts and go off-script more than any coach would like. But when he is engaged as an on-ball defender, he can be disruptive. He has defended Tyrese Maxey in many playoff games, and that is a testament to his speed. Most players with Brown's sort of muscle are not capable of keeping up with fast guards, but Brown will offer Sixers head coach Nick Nurse some optionality as far as how he defends opponents' primary scorers.
Just as Brown is capable of utilizing bumps, he can withstand them, making him harder for ball-handlers to discard:
Jaylen Brown's strongest skill defensively is guarding the ball, in part thanks to his blend of athleticism and strength: pic.twitter.com/rWz6X6832L
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) July 4, 2026
Between VJ Edgecombe, Brown and Dean Wade, the Sixers will have three starters used to defending elite scorers. Nurse can get creative in deploying those players and hunting the right matchups for them, and there is also value in moving those assignments around over the course of a game to show great players different looks. While Edgecombe will only be tasked with defending guards, Brown and Wade are viable defending one through four.
Brown is a considerably less valuable defender than George, a superior on-ball stopper and a true off-ball savant. He will have maddening sequences and stretches as a defender when he is not entirely locked in. But when he is committed as an on-ball defender, Brown can be a weapon on that end of the floor.
MORE: Rich Paul confirms Sixers have LeBron James' attention: 'Everything has changed'
