Brett Brown Reflects on 'Haunting' Regret

Getty Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers talks to Jimmy Butler #22 of the Miami Heat.

After the Philadelphia 76ers were swept by the Boston Celtics in the first round of the 2020 playoffs, the organization began to make some major changes. One of the biggest being removing Brett Brown as head coach.

It’s rare for a coach to stick around through an entire rebuild, but the Sixers gave Brown that chance. Following their ugly playoff exit in the bubble, both sides knew it was time to part ways. Brown’s tenure in Philadelphia lasted seven years, and in that time, he posted a regular season record of 221-334 and went 12-14 in the postseason.

For two years, Brown took a major step back from his life in the NBA. However, he recently decided to get back to his roots and is once again an assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs. Before joining the Sixers, Brown learned under Gregg Popovich for nearly a decade.

Now back in the NBA, Brown has begun to talk about his time with the Sixers. He was recently a guest on the ‘Rights To Ricky Sanchez‘ podcast, where he discussed multiple topics. During the interview, Brown mentioned one of his biggest regrets was not being able to make things work with Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, and Jimmy Butler.

I always said I’d rather be a sh**** than a sh**** leader, and I ended up not being the leader, if I’m truthful, that I needed to be. Trying to connect the dots with Jimmy [Butler], and Ben [Simmons], and Joel [Embiid]. It still haunts me.

Midway through the 2018-19 season, the Sixers acquired Jimmy Butler from the Minnesota Timberwolves. The pairing was short-lived as the All-Star forward went to the Miami Heat in a sign-and-trade that next offseason. After a miracle shot from Kawhi Leonard, the Sixers were bounced in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals that year.

Brett Brown is Proud of What Joel Embiid Has Become For Sixers

One person Brett Brown built a close relationship with during his time with the Sixers was Joel Embiid. Their journeys began together, as both arrived in Philadelphia in 2014. In that time, Brown watched Embiid evolve from a major what-if to one of the game’s top players.

During the interview, Brown was asked if he still keeps up with his former team. He admitted to not watching them much but did take the time to say how proud he is of the player and person Embiid has become over the past two years.

I did not pay much attention to the Sixers. I would watch obviously, I still care… I love watching the growth of Joel Embiid. His maturity as a human being and a father, that’s been a great sight to see.

The All-Star center is fresh off being the first center to secure the scoring title since Shaq nearly twenty years ago and finished as the runner-up for MVP for the second-straight season.

Joel Embiid Granted French Citizenship

It has been a busy offseason for the Sixers’ star big man. Along with preparing for this upcoming season, he also secured citizenship from France. This new development now opens up the possibility of his playing for their national team in the 2024 Summer Olympics. Some other notable names of Team France include Rudy Gobert, Evan Fournier, and Nic Batum.