Jaylen Brown Declares 76ers’ Real Leader Amid Potential Ego and Chemistry Challenges

Philadelphia has tried this star-trio formula before, and it never quite worked. Last season, the Sixers paired Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey with Paul George, hoping the trio would click. It didn't. "We never really figured it out," Maxey admitted at the end of that campaign, a season undone by injuries and chemistry that never fully formed. 

The 76ers beat the Chicago Bulls 126-107 on Monday night to improve to 7-1. After the game, Brown was asked about Maxey’s strong closing stretches, and he didn’t hesitate to settle the hierarchy question that has followed this star-studded roster since training camp. 

"Maxey's been leading the way, 100%," Brown said. "He's been here. This is his team. Him and Joel have been here for a while, so the mindset has been to complement those guys. I'm finding my footing, but Maxey's been leading the way for sure."

The comment settles a question that could easily have become a problem. Philadelphia now has four players who have all operated as a primary offensive option somewhere in their careers: LeBron James, Embiid, Maxey and Brown.

Embiid's health adds another layer to the stakes. Given his extensive injury history, there's a reasonable argument that he's the one who should be scaling back usage the most.

On his KG Certified podcast, Garnett made clear he no longer views the Sixers as Embiid's team by default. "This is Tyrese Maxey's team," Garnett said. "Joel Embiid played 30 games. Listen, this can't be your team and play 20, 25, 30, 35 games. When you put on the hat and you say this is your team, you play 70-80 plus. You the man. In the clock, it's me. I'm in the play. I'll take the last shot. I'm in the pick-and-roll."

Brown arrived from Boston with a Finals MVP, and James has built his entire legacy around controlling an offense. Rather than angling for touches, Brown explicitly deferred, a markedly different posture from the quiet friction that undercut last year’s George-Embiid-Maxey trio.

Maxey has made the case for himself on the court. He’s averaging 29.1 points, 5.3 assists and 4.1 rebounds through eight games while shooting 50.3% from the field, production that has carried Philadelphia to the Eastern Conference’s best record early in the season. 

Against Chicago, he scored 26 points, including 15 in the fourth quarter, and handed out 11 assists, the exact kind of closing performance that prompted Brown's comments in the first place.

Brown’s own numbers haven’t suffered for taking a complementary role, either. He’s averaging 20.6 points on 45.7% shooting and 41.9% from three so far in his first season in Philadelphia, production that suggests fitting around Maxey hasn’t cost him efficiency. 

Brown was careful to note the team still has “a long way to go” on chemistry and defensive identity despite the hot start, a reminder that 7-1 is still a small sample. But where last year’s trio spent an entire season failing to establish who the team actually ran through, Brown answered that question for this group just days into November.