The Boston Celtics capped off their five-game Summer League slate in Las Vegas over the weekend. Saturday was, unfortunately, the last time any of us get to watch Celtics basketball live for a few months.
Thankfully, the team has our back. They wasted no time sharing when they’ll be hitting the floor next, and shared their four-game preseason schedule on Monday morning.
Boston’s early-October slate is as follows:
- October 8, 7 p.m. ET: at Cleveland Cavaliers
- October 10, 8 p.m. ET: vs. Philadelphia 76ers
- October 14, 7:30 p.m. ET: vs. Charlotte Hornets
- October 16, 7 p.m. ET: at Philadelphia 76ers
The #Celtics are back on October 8
— Sam LaFrance (@SamLaFranceNBA) July 20, 2026
Jaylen Brown might be back at TD Garden on October 10 👀 pic.twitter.com/4qNUJRybBG
Is Jaylen Brown's TD Garden return going to be in the preseason?
Frankly, this announcement is exciting every single year. It typically comes at a time where diehard fans are absolutely starving for hoops and gives them a light at the end of the long dark tunnel that is the months of August and September.
This year, it’s even more of an eye-opener.
The headliner here, of course, is the Oct. 10 matchup with Philadelphia. On paper, this should be Jaylen Brown’s first game at TD Garden as a visiting player. It’s been almost three weeks since the decade-long Celtic was shockingly traded to one of the franchise’s biggest rivals.
Not only that, but the return was a lackluster one. The Celtics netted a 36-year-old Paul George, whose remaining $113 million over two years is thought to be one of the worst contracts in the league, a 2028 first-round pick swap, the Sixers’ 2031 first-round pick, and two second-rounders.
Fans have been asking plenty of questions like, “Why would they do that?” or “Why didn’t they wait for a better trade package?” Outside of those obvious “trying to make sense of a tragic trade” questions, everyone’s been wondering when they’ll get to see Brown again.
They might have their answer with this preseason slate announcement, but we all still can’t be too sure.
Personally, I’d be surprised if Brown made the trip back to North Station for an exhibition game. It’s not that I don’t think he’d want to be there, it’s just that returning to your old team, especially when you had a tenure as decorated as his, is supposed to feel special.
There actually might be nothing less special than a preseason matchup.
Think about it. Whenever Brown’s regular-season return to TD Garden is, he’s probably going to get a huge round of applause when he’s introduced as a starter for the 76ers and a tribute video during the first TV timeout.
The fanfare, though deserved, would feel a little odd if he’d already been back for the meaningless Oct. 10 game.
Who knows, though? Brown has already delivered on some scheduled appearances in Boston through his 7uice Foundation and 741 Brand since the trade. He could very well schedule some more events around that preseason matchup and get out in the community.
The tealeaves just sort of point the other way, to me.
Nonetheless, it’s exciting to start circling days on the calendar when Celtics basketball will be back.
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