JaylenBrown

Preseason question: After a tantalizing taste of alpha stardom, how will Brown conform to a superteam in Philly? Whatever version of Brown we get on the Sixers this season probably won’t look too similar to the version that came in sixth in MVP voting last year and notched his second All-NBA appearance. Knowing that he wouldn’t have to cut back on his lion’s share of touches until Jayson Tatum returned, Brown played freely in 2025-26. Now he joins a fever-dream Sixers starting lineup that features no fewer than three other high-usage on-ball creators. But with LeBron James firmly in battery-saver mode and Joel Embiid likely just a part-time phenom, Brown’s punishing isolation drives could serve as a solid regular-season foundation on offense. A lessened burden on that end might also allow Brown to tap into his physical on-ball hounding more consistently. The stars have aligned in Philadelphia, but it’ll take some time for all of them to reprogram for their new reality—perhaps none more so than Brown.