Jayson Tatum has spent plenty of time staring up at the NBA’s newest standard-bearers, but he made it clear he can still appreciate the moment when it’s people he knows holding the trophy.
The Celtics star said he was happy for Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby after the Knicks won the championship, even if that didn’t soften the competitive sting. Tatum has known both players since he was 16, and that long history mattered to him when he watched them celebrate.
“Just sitting it out, really spectating as a fan. I will say that I've known Jalen Brunson since I was 16.
I've known OG since I was 16. A lot of guys in the NBA, we go way back.
I wasn't rooting for them, but when they won, I was happy for them,” Tatum said on TODAY with Jenna & Sheinelle.
That perspective comes from a tough stretch for Tatum, who has had to watch the last two seasons unfold from the sidelines. He sat out in 2025 while dealing with an injury, then was left reeling after Boston blew a 3-1 lead in the 2026 Playoffs. Even with that frustration hanging over him, he still found room to salute friends who reached the top.
The Knicks’ title also lands in a bigger picture that could push Tatum even harder going into the 2026-27 season. With Jaylen Brown now on the Philadelphia 76ers after a blockbuster trade, the Celtics’ path looks different, and Tatum may have to carry even more. He’ll do it fully healthy, too, after dealing with a ruptured Achilles tendon over the past year.
For Tatum, the championship may belong to New York, but the message is personal: seeing familiar faces win can fuel the chase for his own next one.
In Other News...
Celtics May Already Be Zeroing In On Their Next Post-Brown Piece
After the Jaylen Brown trade chatter sent plenty of teams sniffing around Boston's future, the Celtics appear to be thinking less about another headline-grabbing swing and more about the kind of player who fits cleanly next to Jayson Tatum. San Antonio has been part of that conversation, but the Spurs have already shown they are willing to take a patient approach, and Keldon Johnson has emerged as the sort of useful, in-prime piece that can matter in a roster build even if he is not the loudest name on the board.
The Spurs have made a series of solid decisions lately, which is part of why they may be inclined to hold Johnson unless an offer truly changes the equation. For Boston, the appeal is obvious: if the goal is to keep shaping the roster around Tatum rather than chase another star for the sake of it, a player like Johnson becomes the kind of name worth monitoring closely as the market settles. [Read more 🡒]
Celtics Make Another Quiet Move In Their High Stakes Money Game
Boston kept trimming around the edges of its books by waiving Dalano Banton, a move that clears a non-guaranteed $2.8 million salary and leaves the roster at 14 players. It is the kind of quiet transaction that barely registers on the floor but matters plenty in the front office, where every small cut can shape how much room the Celtics have to maneuver later.
The bigger significance is tied to the tax math, with Boston now positioned below the 2026-27 luxury tax threshold and in line to potentially reset repeater penalties down the road. There was a path where the Celtics might have had to consider a more meaningful salary move to preserve that flexibility, which is why this latest cleanup step fits into a much larger money game still unfolding. [Read more 🡒]