Jaylen Brown stood before a crowd at Boston Common on Sunday and delivered a simple message to Celtics fans that closed a decade-long chapter with the city.
“I just want to say thank you to Boston. Thank you to the city. I love you,” Brown told fans at 741 Frequency Fest, a free afternoon event he organized as a farewell to the place that raised him as a professional.
The gathering ran from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. near the Charles Street entrance and featured carnival games, giveaways, a 741 pop-up shop, back-to-school activities and surprise performances. No ticket was required.
Brown, 29, spent 10 seasons with the Celtics after Boston selected him third overall in the 2016 NBA draft out of California. He arrived at 19 and left as a champion, five-time All-Star and one of the most recognizable figures in franchise history.
In July, the Celtics traded Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers for Paul George, two first-round picks and two second-round picks. The deal ended the long partnership between Brown and Jayson Tatum that produced six Eastern Conference finals appearances, two NBA Finals trips and the 2024 title.
Brown never requested the trade. In remarks after the deal, he said he was still processing how it happened and described himself as both excited and disappointed.
On the court, his Boston résumé is substantial. He appeared in 674 regular-season games for the Celtics and averaged 20.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists. In the 2025-26 season, his last with the team, he posted career highs of 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists in 71 games, finished sixth in MVP voting and earned All-NBA Second Team honors.
Brown reached the playoffs in all 10 of his Boston seasons. He played 142 postseason games and averaged 19.6 points. In the 2024 playoffs he averaged 23.9 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists as the Celtics went 16-3 and won the franchise’s 18th championship.
He was named Eastern Conference finals MVP after averaging 29.8 points in a sweep of Indiana, then won NBA Finals MVP against Dallas. In the Finals he averaged 20.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.0 assists while serving as a primary defender on Luka Doncic.
Sunday’s event was not a Celtics production. It was Brown’s own send-off through his 741 Frequency brand, which he has used to keep creative control over his off-court work.
He told the crowd he had promised to go to war for the city when he arrived. He said he met people who helped him in the community, motivated him and supported him even when he struggled to support himself.
“I’m at a loss for words,” Brown said at one point. “Thank you Boston. I love you.”
Coach Joe Mazzulla had said weeks earlier that the organization needed a grieving process for losing not only a player but a person who mattered on the court and in the community. Brown’s remarks Sunday stayed focused on the fans and the city rather than the front office.
He has described his 10 years in Boston as a complete cycle. He said the most important developmental years of his young adulthood happened here and that the relationships remain.
The photograph circulating with his comments Sunday showed Brown holding the 2024 Eastern Conference trophy, a reminder of the peak of the era that just ended.
Brown now prepares for a new start in Philadelphia alongside Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid. He has said every city has its own identity and that he intends to earn respect the only way he knows how: through the work.
For one afternoon on the Common, the work was gratitude. Boston heard it.
