Tyrese Maxey calls Jaylen Brown a ‘freak of nature’ at start of Sixers’ training camp

The 76ers’ practice court was empty as the team began to cycle through interviews following their second day of training camp Wednesday afternoon.

Then, a shirtless Jaylen Brown emerged for an individual workout with new assistant coach Phil Handy, plus a player development coach bumping Brown as the All-NBA wing executed post-up moves.

Teammate Tyrese Maxey still used the term “foreign” to describe how it must feel for Brown to be inside this building.

After spending his first 10 NBA seasons with the Boston Celtics, where he developed into a five-time All-Star and Finals MVP, Brown in July was shockingly traded to the Sixers team he was “trained to hate, probably,” Maxey said. The timing was particularly “crazy,” Maxey said, after the Sixers’ dramatic seven-game, first-round playoff upset of the Celtics less than five months ago.

“I feel like I’ve played against Jaylen so many times,” said Maxey, an All-NBA point guard who is entering his seventh season with the Sixers. “But when you’re with somebody every single day, it’s different.”

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Brown is coming off his best individual season, averaging 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 5.1 assists while star teammate Jayson Tatum recovered from Achilles surgery. Maxey said he has immediately been impressed with Brown’s communication and willingness to guard the ballhandler. Maxey also called Brown an “awesome cutter,” a valuable skill on a team with several top-notch ballhandlers and shot creators.

And, physically, Maxey called Brown a “freak of nature.”

“He’s just stronger than you,” Maxey said. “He jumps higher than you. He’s faster than you, and he’s very talented. Those are the things that you see every single day.”

Asked to clarify if that meant Brown is faster than Maxey — who is regarded as perhaps the NBA’s speediest player — he quipped, “Nah, no chance.”

“I wasn’t talking about me,” Maxey said.

Media attending the Sixers’ first two practices did not get an in-person glimpse of all-time great LeBron James partaking in any team or individual on-court work. But the Sixers’ social media team posted a video clip from Tuesday’s session of a fastbreak that began with the ball in Maxey’s hands, before he kicked it to James who then found VJ Edgecombe for an alley-oop dunk.

“I was on their team [with the starters], it was so fun to play,” new forward Dean Wade said. “I played against them when they were in that flow, and there was nothing you [could] do. It’s unbelievable.”

The immediate success with — and emphasis on — the transition game is no surprise. Last season, the 41-year-old James led the NBA in fastbreak points (5.7 per game), while Maxey was third (5.5 per game). Brown ranked 14th, at 3.6 per game. And Edgecombe is regarded as one of the league’s more electric athletes.

So coach Nick Nurse already has been sending a consistent message of “pitch it ahead,” Maxey said.

“I dribbled a little bit more [last season] than I probably will this year,” Maxey added. “So I’m just trying to get it ahead, no matter what, or I’m trying to run ahead or I’m trying to figure it out.”

Last season, the Sixers ranked ninth in the NBA in fastbreak points, at 16.9 per game. Getting into the open court is a way for the team to capitalize on forced turnovers, one of Nurse’s prime defensive philosophies. It also is a way to get easy buckets even while figuring out offensive schemes and roles, now with a loaded roster featuring four players who have been All-Stars and offensive focal points in their careers.

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Those open-court opportunities still come with nuance. Maxey said he has spent these early days learning where new teammates want the ball in such scenarios, or who might pull up for a three-pointer.

“And then, at the end of the day, we also have No. 21 [Joel Embiid] trailing in,” Maxey said. “So that’s a pretty good option, too.”

The Sixers’ biggest positional question mark entering 2026-27 has been shorthanded at the start of training camp.

Adem Bona, the Sixers’ backup center for most of last season, has been nursing a sprained foot sustained while playing for the Turkish national team during the summer. The 7-foot-6 Tacko Fall, who is on an Exhibit 10 contract and a contender for the team’s final two-way deal, had a hip issue that took him out about midway through Wednesday’s practice, Nurse said.

Not on the injury report? Embiid, a noteworthy tidbit given the former MVP’s injury struggles in recent seasons.

Embiid arrived at Monday’s media day noticeably slimmer and said that he was finally able to work on his game during the offseason. Maxey added Wednesday that Embiid, his longest-tenured teammate and close friend, has looked “amazing” — and happy — during initial practices.

“When you’re healthy and you’re happy and you’re at peace with your life and basketball,” Maxey said, “that’s when you’re at your best. He’s been great. He’s Joel.”