Although the Boston Celtics traded Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers over the summer, rumors have continued to run rampant regarding his relationship with the organization and teammates. Well, another rumor came to fruition on Monday, this time centered on what Brown may have actually demanded from Boston that ultimately led to the trade to Philly.

In his latest column for The New York Times, Jay King claims that the 30-year-old wing demanded the Celtics treat him as a franchise player. After securing a Second-Team All-NBA nod in the 2025-26 campaign, rumors suggest Brown wanted to be treated as one of the elite players in the league, even over Jayson Tatum.

“That was the backdrop when, in the aftermath of Boston’s playoff exit, Brown made it clear to the front office that he wanted to be treated more like a franchise player on and off the court, according to league sources,” King wrote.

“When asked to sacrifice parts of his game over the years, he had been willing to do so,” King continued. “But after averaging 28.7 points per game and landing on the second-team All-NBA, he had reached a place in his career where he believed he deserved the preferential treatment reserved for the game's premier players, including Tatum.”

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To be fair, Jaylen Brown did serve as the Celtics' top player last year, as Tatum was only available for 16 games in the regular season as he missed a majority of the campaign working his way back from a ruptured right Achilles tendon. Brown, meanwhile, played 71 games for Boston. The five-time All-Star ended last season averaging 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 1.0 steals per game while shooting 47.7% from the floor and 34.7% from deep.

Since then, Brown has appeared to move on from the Celtics, but there has been continued speculation about a tiff between the 11-year veteran and Tatum. Either way, Brown now serves as one of the top players for the 76ers. Coincidentally, Boston and Philly are the top two seeds in the Eastern Conference through the early portion of the 2026-27 season.