PHILADELPHIA -- Jaylen Brown spent 10 fantastic seasons with the Boston Celtics before being sent to the Philadelphia 76ers in the offseason. The No. 3 pick of the 2016 draft averaged 20.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.9 assists across those 10 years while being named an All-Star five times and winning the finals MVP award in 2024.

The Sixers faced the Celtics twice in the preseason, once at TD Garden and on Friday at the Xfinity Mobile Arena, as Brown faced his former team on Friday. One has to wonder if seeing his old Celtics team in the preseason helps ease some of the emotions that are sure to dominate his return to Boston on Jan. 21.

"I’m not sure how to answer that," Brown pondered. I played there for 10 years, so it’ll never be ‘out of the way,’ you know what I mean? But it was good to see some of the young guys. Spent a lot of time with those guys. To see them develop and getting better is good to see."

It certainly helps to get some of those emotions out of the way. Even if it is just the preseason, it's important for Brown to get those types of moments done so he can help the Sixers focus on what matters most: a championship.

Brown, obviously, won with the Celtics in 2024. This Sixers team can do the same thing in the upcoming season. It will just come down to getting better each and every day. That's what Brown understands and he's ready to get everything going on opening night.

"We’re excited, but we also know we gotta get better," Brown said of the Sixers. "We’re not where we wanna be right now. We’re happy we had a good preseason. We had good training camp. We’re building habits. We set the rules for ourselves, accountability. But it’s gonna take some time. Hopefully on the shorter end, but we’re not where we want to be yet. That’s just a part of it. It’s a part of coming together, a new group with a bunch of guys, different style. But we’ve just got to keep getting better every day."

The Sixers will take on the New York Knicks on opening night on Tuesday.