Sixers star Jaylen Brown ranked No. 3 small forward in the league

Philadelphia 76ers star Jaylen Brown is one of the premier players in the league. A 5-time All-Star, 2-time All-NBA Team member, and a finals MVP in 2024. He threw the Boston Celtics on his back in 2025-26 when he averaged 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 5.1 assists while shooting 34.7% from deep and led Boston to the No. 2 seed in what was supposed to be a “gap year”.

As Brown now heads to Philadelphia in a deal, the 10-year veteran is looking to move forward in a new chapter of his career. After looking at the Sixers as a rival for his entire career, his viewpoint now changes as he looks to help Philadelphia end a lengthy title drought.

HoopsHype ranked the top 27 small forwards in the league and Brown comes in ranked No. 3 on the list:

Not much was expected out of the 2025-26 Boston Celtics, considering the player coming up soon on this ranking was thought to be missing most – if not all – of the season. Instead, the team went 56-26 and finished as the East’s No. 2 seed before seeing its season cut short in the first round of the playoffs.

Disappointing ending aside, a lot of Boston’s surprising season had to do with Jaylen Brown elevating his game, averaging career-highs across the board, including in points per game, rebounds per game and assists per game, while shooting nearly 48 percent from the floor. Brown was one of just two players last season to put up a 28/6/5 stat line, along with Doncic, producing at a level not many were sure he had in him. Brown finished sixth in the MVP vote last season for his efforts and was named an All-Star and 2nd Team All-NBAer.

Not much was expected out of the 2025-26 Boston Celtics, considering the player coming up soon on this ranking was thought to be missing most – if not all – of the season. Instead, the team went 56-26 and finished as the East’s No. 2 seed before seeing its season cut short in the first round of the playoffs.

Disappointing ending aside, a lot of Boston’s surprising season had to do with Jaylen Brown elevating his game, averaging career-highs across the board, including in points per game, rebounds per game and assists per game, while shooting nearly 48 percent from the floor. Brown was one of just two players last season to put up a 28/6/5 stat line, along with Doncic, producing at a level not many were sure he had in him. Brown finished sixth in the MVP vote last season for his efforts and was named an All-Star and 2nd Team All-NBAer.

Brown was ranked behind only Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg and former Celtics teammate Jayson Tatum in the rankings. HoopsHype did cite the analytics as a reason for some doubt about Brown’s effectiveness, but Philadelphia will be getting one of the elite scorers and overall players in this league as it looks to reach the mountaintop in 2027.