Jaylen Brown Reveals the Classic NBA Finals He Would Most Want to Relive on New NBA 2K27 Feature

LOS ANGELES — Philadelphia 76ers forward Jaylen Brown said this week that he would most want to have experienced the 2016 NBA Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors, a series he watched in person as a college student, as new video game feature NBA 2K27 lets players relive historic championship matchups from different NBA eras.

Brown spoke with ClutchPoints ahead of the release of NBA 2K27 this month, which introduces an "eras" feature to MyCareer mode allowing players to begin their in-game professional careers during different periods of NBA history. Asked which past NBA Finals he would want to experience, Brown pointed to the 2016 series between LeBron James' Cavaliers and Stephen Curry's Warriors, a matchup he watched firsthand while attending the University of California, Berkeley.

"I feel like one of the greatest Finals was that 2016 NBA Finals, where it was LeBron James and Kyrie Irving versus Stephen Curry, but I was there. I was there for every home game in Golden State, so I got to see all those games up close," Brown said. That series, which went the full seven games, ended with Cleveland completing a comeback from a 3-1 series deficit to deliver the city its first professional sports championship in 52 years.

Brown said he had not settled on a definitive second choice when asked what other historic Finals he might want to experience. "What other finals would I have to see? I don't know. That's a good question. I'll have to put some thought into that," Brown said. "Maybe some like old traditional like Lakers versus Celtics could have been cool to see. Maybe that 2018 Finals being there for that, or maybe the 2010 Lakers playing versus the Celtics, maybe something to that degree or something like that, but I'm not sure."

Brown was also asked which player in NBA history he would most want to team up with, and he pointed to Boston Celtics legend Bill Russell, with whom Brown shares a personal connection: Brown was named NBA Finals MVP in 2024 using the award now officially named after Russell. "Probably Bill Russell," Brown said. "Just because of like what he stood for on as well as what he stood for off the court. And he was a winner on the court too, so that would be my choice."

Brown's connection to Celtics history runs deep given his eight seasons with the franchise, which included winning the 2024 NBA championship and earning Finals MVP honors before his surprise trade to Philadelphia this offseason. That trade brought him alongside center Joel Embiid, guard Tyrese Maxey and newly signed forward LeBron James, forming a roster that has quickly become one of the league's most anticipated for the 2026-27 season.

NBA 2K27's initial ratings reveal reflected the scale of Philadelphia's roster overhaul. Maxey leads the team with a 92 overall rating, while James, Brown and Embiid are each rated 91 overall, marking the first time since NBA 2K17 that a single team has featured four players rated 90 or higher, according to ClutchPoints. The Golden State Warriors previously accomplished that feat in the earlier game with Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.

Brown has publicly embraced the pressure that comes with joining a star-studded roster built for immediate championship contention. In a separate recent livestream, Brown praised James' physical condition heading into his 24th NBA season, saying, "LeBron is the [expletive]... I don't even need to say what LeBron is. He looks good, healthy. It's going to be that. We're working, man." James, 41, is expected to remain one of the league's most productive veterans after averaging 20.9 points, 7.2 assists and 6.1 rebounds during his final season with the Lakers.

Philadelphia enters the 2026-27 season looking to build on a 2025-26 campaign that saw the team stun the Boston Celtics in a first-round comeback before being swept by the New York Knicks in the conference semifinals. With Brown, James, Embiid and Maxey now sharing the same roster, expectations for the Sixers have risen sharply heading into training camp, with Brown himself recently declaring he is looking to bring an aggressive, championship-driven mentality into his first season in Philadelphia.