BOSTON (WHDH) – A tearful tribute to Jaylen Brown from a six-year-old Celtics superfan following the news of Brown being traded to the Philadelphia 76ers went viral online Thursday, prompting a response from the 29-year-old himself.
“I love you so much, you mean a lot to me, and you are my favorite player in the whole NBA,” Gio Jean said through tears in the video that has now amassed more than nine-million views on Instagram.
The first-grader at St. John Paul II Catholic Academy in Dorchester had a budding bromance with Brown. Jean had met Brown several times, including when the NBA star visited his school.
In the video, he is seen wearing Brown’s number seven jersey signed by Brown himself. It goes on to show Jean with a note asking Brown to come back one day, and asked his mother to send it to him in the mail.
“It made me get mad, really mad,” Jean told 7NEWS Thursday.
Brown responded to Gio’s tearful message on Instagram, commenting, “It’s ok lil’ bro, we will always be friends,” with a red heart emoji.
When asked how it felt to receive that comment, Jean responded in disbelief, “It changed my life forever. To see a comment from the real Jaylen Brown!”
For now, Jean will continue shooting hoops in his man cave, and had one final message for Brown, saying, “Thank you for educating me and making me who I am right now.”
Despite everything, Jean said he will always be a Celtics fan, but will also be rooting for the 76ers on the side.
(Copyright (c) 2026 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
