LeBron James Reacts After Unexpected Celtics Trade

With other reports linking the four-time MVP to the Cavaliers and the Philadelphia 76ers, the 41-year-old has not revealed his team for the 2026-27 NBA season. One player who does know where he is playing next season is Jaylen Brown, now of the 76ers.

On his Instagram Story, James posted a reel of retired NBA player Austin Rivers. The son of coach Doc Rivers, Austin is now a commentator. In the clip, Rivers acknowledges that there is more to Brown than just basketball, but that his production on the court outweighs any potential distraction and that he is a valuable member of an NBA franchise.

"I wanted to make this video real quick because I've seen so much negativity come Jaylen Brown's way," Rivers said in the clip. "I'm not saying he's the most politically correct, I'm not saying his intelligence is easy to manage on a day-to-day basis, but he's done nothing wrong. And the fact is, my man just works hard. So yeah, he has a stream, and he does all this other stuff, and he is very outspoken, and that can ruffle feathers or scare teams, from what I'm hearing, for whatever reason."

"But the only thing that really matters," Rivers continued, "is, does the guy show up and play? Because y'all got a bunch of twerps in the NBA that I watch that do everything right. They don't talk, they're quiet, they're easy to manage, but they can't ball for anything. I'll take the guy who shows up and hoops. You can speak all you want on all your streams and say all you want. If you're gonna show up and play and work like Jaylen Brown does, I'll take it. The guy busts his ass off. He's one of the first in the practice facility, one of the last to leave. He's always in shape, he's always playing..."

James captioned the reel, "PUT A (expletive) NAME ON IT! ," co-signing the message in support of Brown.

Boston's next opponent in the 2026 Las Vegas Summer League will be the Toronto Raptors on Friday at 9 p.m. ET.