The NBA made Boston Celtics fans wait to find out when star guard Jaylen Brown would return to TD Garden following his shocking trade to the rival Philadelphia 76ers. The schedule release began Tuesday, but that highly-anticipated date wasn't revealed until Thursday afternoon. Brown, who spent 10 years of his professional career with the Green Team, will face the Celtics in Boston for the first time during the regular season on Thursday, Jan. 21 at 7:30 pm ET. The 76ers visit Beantown prior to that game on Saturday, October 10, however, this earlier meeting is a preseason contest and might not feature full-strength rosters. The first regular-season encounter at TD Garden is the real draw, and the Association is treating it as such with a primetime airing on Amazon Prime Video.
Jaylen Brown ended his presser by talking about his whirlwind summer and the trade process: “It's just been a crazy process and transition, and obviously getting traded to the Sixers, somebody that you competed against for the last 10 years, someone that you've just been a rival… pic.twitter.com/LTPMqWcnUG — Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) August 6, 2026 The homecoming might be odd for all parties involved. The Celtics won't be used to seeing Brown at TD Garden in anything other than a green and white jersey. The Sixers will still be getting used to having Brown on their side, especially after facing him more than 50 times (in the regular season and postseason) since 2016. Most notably, it'll be weird for Brown, who's been programmed to despise the 76ers up until the blockbuster trade. "It's been a lot of emotions," Brown described of coming to Philadelphia during his introductory press conference. "You know what I mean? It's been a process. To be honest, I'm still processing to some degree." Since the Celtics and 76ers share a division, they'll also square off before 2027 in Philadelphia on Tuesday, Nov. 10. In the new year, there'll be Brown's TD Garden return in January, a Philly matchup on Sunday, Feb. 7, and a final meeting in Boston on Sunday, March 7. By the end of this regular-season slate, perhaps the five-time All-Star will be better accustomed to competing against his former franchise. "My tenure in Boston — 10 years is a perfect cycle, perfect number for completion," Brown said. "We won a championship, and I have nothing but respect for the city of Boston. But, now it's time to move forward a little bit." Brown's unexpected departure from Boston adds another layer to the historic Celtics-76ers rivalry. And while most Sixers players should expect boos when they take the parquet floor, that shouldn't be the case for Brown. A standing ovation at TD Garden is in order for the 2024 Celtics champion. After that, it's business as usual, as Celtics fans will cheer and jeer as they always do. "Let's get to it," Brown said just before ending his presser in Philly. .oembed-frame {width:100%;height:100%;margin:0;border:0;}
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Listen to "Havlicek Stole the Pod" on: Blue Wire: https://tiny.ee/CdKp iTunes: https://tiny.ee/RK47 YouTube: https://tiny.ee/cOW3 This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Former Boston Celtic Jaylen Brown set for January homecoming