Celtics reportedly considering retiring Jaylen Brown's No. 7 after shock trade to 76ers

Celtics break up their championship duo  and it's Jaylen Brown who's out

Boston shocked the league last July when it shipped 2024 Finals MVP Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers, ending a 10-year run that helped define the franchise's most recent era of success. The move sent Paul George and multiple first-round picks back to Boston, but for a fanbase that watched Brown grow into a champion, the trade felt less like a basketball transaction and more like the end of a chapter.

Brad Stevens didn't sugarcoat it. The Celtics president called it one of the hardest decisions he's had to make, and admitted the process genuinely hurt. Team owner William Chisholm echoed that sentiment, saying he was personally a fan of Brown's game but ultimately trusted his front office's read on the team's long-term direction.

A decade, a title, and a legacy that still stands

Drafted third overall in 2016 a year ahead of Jayson Tatum, who went third overall in 2017 Brown spent his entire career in green until the trade. Together, the pair turned Boston into a perennial contender and finally broke through in 2024, beating the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals. Brown walked away with the Finals MVP trophy that year, cementing his place among the franchise's biggest playoff performers.

• 10 seasons with the Boston Celtics
• 2024 NBA Champion and Finals MVP
• 5-time NBA All-Star
• All-NBA Second Team selection
• Finished 6th in last season's MVP voting

That last point matters. With Tatum sidelined until March last season, Brown didn't just hold the fort — he elevated his game, turned himself into an MVP conversation piece, and dragged Boston to the No. 2 seed in the East. It was arguably the best individual stretch of his career, and it happened right before the front office decided to move on from him.

Why the jersey retirement talk is a big deal

According to Stevens, retiring Brown's No. 7 is very much on the table down the road. That's not a small gesture in Boston. The Celtics already have 24 retired numbers hanging from the TD Garden rafters the most in the NBA and getting added to that list puts Brown in the same conversation as some of the most decorated players in franchise history.

It's a rare move for a team to make right after trading a player away, and it says a lot about how the organization views Brown's impact beyond the box score. A championship, a Finals MVP, and a decade of loyalty to one franchise clearly outweighed the fact that he's now suiting up in Philadelphia.

Lonzo Ball weighs in on the Brown vs. Tatum debate

The trade also reignited an old argument: who was actually Boston's No. 1 guy Brown or Tatum? The Celtics answered that question with their actions by keeping Tatum and moving Brown. But not everyone agrees with the hierarchy.

On his podcast with his brothers, Lonzo Ball part of the same 2017 draft class as Tatum ranked Boston's all-time wing greats and placed Brown above his former teammate. Ball put only Larry Bird and Paul Pierce ahead of Brown in franchise history, calling him "a little better than Tatum." It's a bold take given both players are still in their primes, but it underlines just how much respect Brown built up during his time in Boston.

Brown returns to Boston this time as a guest of honor

Even after the trade, Brown didn't just quietly disappear from the city that made him a champion. He came back to Boston to host the 741 Frequency Fest, an event built around thanking the community that supported him for a decade. It was a fitting send-off — not a farewell tour, but a genuine thank-you from a player who clearly still feels tied to the city, even as he starts a new chapter elsewhere.

What's next for both sides

Philadelphia now gets a proven, All-Star-level scorer who's fresh off arguably his best individual season, and the Sixers are being talked about as legitimate contenders because of it. Boston, meanwhile, is leaning on Tatum to lead a retooled roster while banking on the picks and George's two-way ability to fill the void. Both franchises are betting big on this trade paying off — and how it shakes out could shift the balance of power in the East for years to come.

Whether or not that No. 7 jersey ends up in the rafters, one thing's already clear — Boston hasn't seen the last chapter of the Jaylen Brown story, even if he's writing it in another city's colors now.