Sixers star Jaylen Brown hangs his hat on being rooted in the community

PHILADELPHIA — For the Philadelphia 76ers, most introductory press conferences take place at the team's practice facility in Camden, New Jersey. At the request of Jaylen Brown, his first presser as a Sixer, held Thursday, took place at the Francis J. Myers Recreation Center in Southwest Philadelphia.

Brown's arrival in Philadelphia was understandably emotional. He had spent a decade in Boston, more than a third of his life, as he pointed out. Suddenly, he had changed teams and homes for the first time since entering the NBA, and not of his own volition.

“[There have] been a lot of emotions,” Brown said. “It's been a process. To be honest, I'm still processing to some degree. The excitement of coming to a new city, new place, new expectations, new energy, and then also leaving somewhere that you've been for a very, very long time. I've been in Boston for 10 years. I'm 29 years old, so I was there a third of my life. I met some people, some lifelong friends, people I'll still be connected to. Starting something new, it's an end of something else. So, it’s just a process, just like everybody else has to deal with certain things; it's no different. It's just been public, so that's the only difference.”

Brown was not just employed in Boston. He was not just a resident of the surrounding area. He was — and remains — an active member of the community.

It’s not uncommon for athletes to participate in events in and around their community. From food drives to meet-and-greets, athletes have often taken time to give back to the fans and folks in the community who support them — or critique them.

For Brown, the desire to serve and make an impact in his community is shared by his entire family.

“For me, and people who know my family and I, we are rooted in the community. That’s base. That's where we hang our hat, being able to affect other people's lives. I think we're very blessed. I think we've been able to help our own family and be able to kind of change the course of what our generation or our family name can possibly do, but we look forward to being able to impact others and being able to touch families and households that we may never get to see.”

The cynicism of the modern age could lead some to suggest Brown’s decision to relocate his press conference may be some form of posturing or pandering. Fellow Philadelphia sports star Bryce Harper has often been accused of pandering when expressing an appreciation for the city. Still, even the most suspicious of skeptics would struggle to argue against Brown’s sincerity.

The strongest argument against that cynicism in Brown’s case is his track record.

The 7uice Foundation, founded by Brown in 2019, has worked to bridge the opportunity gap and eliminate systemic barriers for youth in traditionally underserved communities. Its efforts have included educational fairs, partnerships with local Boys & Girls Clubs and programs connecting students with resources and extracurricular opportunities that might otherwise be inaccessible.

Since 2023, the foundation has hosted the Bridge program in Boston and added a program in Atlanta, near Brown’s hometown of Marietta, Georgia, in 2026. The program is a weeklong educational camp for local students who exhibit high character and a commitment to their communities.

Then there's the Boston XChange, a nonprofit initiative launched in 2024 that aims to create $5 billion in new net wealth for historically marginalized communities by providing capital, workspaces and resources to entrepreneurs and business owners.

Brown has demonstrated that commitment time and again, and it has now followed him from Boston to Philadelphia. Making his first impression as a Sixer, he wanted the city — his new community — to understand who he is and that Philadelphia is getting more than a star on the court.

“Being here at Francis J, as I'm still getting to learn this community, I wanted to make it [known] that this is an important pillar in my life, the community and the foundation. And as I'm getting started on the journey and embarking the journey here in Philadelphia, the introduction, the first impression is everything. So I just wanted to let people know in Philadelphia that this is something that's important to me.”

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