Sometimes life throws surprises, and no one knows it better than Jaylen Brown. After the Boston Celtics traded him to the Philadelphia 76ers, Brown revealed that he has a fairly close connection to New England Patriots wide receiver A.J. Brown.

“What’s crazy is that we’re cousins,” Philadelphia 76ers guard Jaylen Brown said on NBC10 Boston. “I didn’t know that. My grandpa just told me. I don’t think he knew that either. His grandfather is brothers with my grandfather.”

Jaylen is older than A.J. by seven months. They also grew up in the South, with the forward attending high school in Georgia and the wide receiver growing up in Mississippi.

What is interesting is that both cousins seemed to have swapped their bases at this point in their careers. Jaylen Brown left the Boston Celtics and will now play for Philadelphia under a three-year, $183 million contract. A.J. Brown was traded to the New England Patriots from the Philadelphia Eagles. The wide receiver will now call Boston home.

In exchange for trading Jaylen, the Celtics got nine-time NBA All-Star Paul George and two first and second-round draft picks. The details of the picks are a little complicated, with the first round pick from the 2028 draft being the most puzzling. Per the press release, it is:

“[A] 2028 first round pick (the LA Clippers’ own) that, if it is top 16, instead becomes the unprotected right for Boston to swap its currently-held 2028 first round pick (the worst of Boston’s and San Antonio’s) with the better of the LA Clippers’ or (if Philadelphia’s is top 8) Philadelphia’s 2028 first round pick.”

The other first-round pick is Philadelphia’s own in the 2031 draft. The Celtics are also getting the best among the second-round picks of the Milwaukee Bucks, Golden State Warriors, and Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2028 draft. The same format follows for the 2030 draft, with the three teams being the Phoenix Suns, Washington Wizards, and Portland Trail Blazers.

Brown leaves Boston after spending 10 seasons with the Celtics. During that time, he made five NBA All-Star teams, helped Boston win the 2024 NBA championship, and earned NBA Finals MVP for his performance in the title series.

After months of trade rumors, the Eagles finally traded A.J. Brown to the Patriots, where he will now be a target for quarterback Drake Maye. In return, the Eagles received a 2028 first-round draft pick and a 2027 fifth-round draft pick. The Patriots are getting a solid playmaker in A.J., who has recorded 8,029 receiving yards, 56 touchdowns, and three Second-team All-Pro selections in his seven-year career.

He is expected to be a great fit for Maye, as noted by NFL.com’s Matt Okada.

Last season, Maye was one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks at throwing deep passes of 10 yards or more, completing 61.2% of those passes. A.J. Brown, in his four seasons with the Eagles, recorded 2,939 receiving yards and 24 touchdowns on downfield passes. He also makes difficult catches when defenders stay close to him.

He also plays very well against one-on-one coverage, averaging 2.9 yards per route against man coverage in 2025, making him a perfect fit for Josh McDaniels’ offense.