Jaylen Brown didn’t leave much mystery around where things stand with Jayson Tatum.
At his introductory news conference with the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday, Brown was asked whether he and Tatum had spoken since Brown was moved in a stunning July 1 trade. His answer was brief.
“Not really,” Brown responded.
That doesn’t mean there’s bad blood, at least not from Brown’s side. The longtime Celtics wing said he holds plenty of respect for Tatum, the teammate he won a championship with in 2024, even if the two haven’t connected since the trade.
“On my end, there’s nothing but respect for Jayson and the time we played together in Boston,” Brown said. “I’m going to root for him, except for when he’s playing against the Sixers.”
Brown and Tatum spent nine seasons together in Boston and became the kind of bookend small forwards teams dream about. For years, they were the faces of a Celtics core that sat among the league’s best duos and helped keep Boston in the championship picture season after season.
Eventually, money got in the way. The Celtics’ concern about crossing the NBA’s second apron made it hard to imagine keeping both players together for their entire careers. Even so, their run left a clear mark: one of the top teams of their era, built around two elite wings who gave Boston a real chance every year.
Brown’s own numbers last season only strengthened that case. With Tatum sidelined for most of the regular season because of an Achilles injury, Brown took on a bigger load and delivered. He averaged more than 28 points per game, pushed the Celtics to 56 wins and the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, then earned second-team All-NBA honors and finished sixth in MVP voting.
Now the spotlight shifts to what comes next, and to the games between Boston and Philadelphia. Those matchups figure to draw plenty of attention, especially with Brown and Tatum likely to spend a lot of time matched up against each other. The teams already have the feel of natural rivals, and Brown will be carrying the added edge of the player who was moved, not the one who stayed.
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