Lonzo Ball’s latest take on Jayson Tatum brought an old draft wound right back into the light.
On a recent episode of the Ball in the Family podcast, the conversation started with Jaylen Brown and whether Boston should someday retire his number - a topic that, by the source’s own framing, “should” be settled. But the discussion didn’t stay there. It quickly turned into a Brown-versus-Tatum comparison, and Ball came down firmly on Brown’s side.
“The only two wings is better to him is Paul Pierce and Larry Bird. I was going to say Larry Bird.
Larry and Paul. That's him.
Boom. So him?
Tatum? He's a little better than Tatum.”
Ball added that both players are “obviously” great, but he still believed Brown was better. He also made a strange point about Brown defending Bird better than Bird would defend Brown.
That’s where the debate starts to lose the plot. Jaylen Brown is a terrific player and one of the source’s favorite Celtics of all time, but the argument that he has ever been better than Jayson Tatum doesn’t hold up.
Tatum has been better on offense and defense. He’s the stronger shooter, passer, dribbler, playmaker, rebounder, and defender.
He has also carried the heavier offensive burden, drawn more of the defense’s attention, and still produced at a higher level.
Brown has been a valuable sidekick - and maybe even more than that - but there was never real suspense over who the top guy was.
If there’s any room left for a future argument, it would have to be about what comes next. If someone wants to say Tatum might not return to the same level after the Achilles injury while Brown takes another step forward, that’s a prediction. It’s not evidence of anything that has already happened.
The numbers before the injury tell the story too. Tatum had made four straight first-team All-NBA teams. Brown has never made one.
That’s why Ball’s comments feel like more than just a basketball opinion. Given the history, they almost read like something personal.
Ball was taken second overall in the 2017 NBA Draft by the Lakers, one pick ahead of Tatum. Boston had traded down from No. 1 to No. 3, betting the Sixers would take Markelle Fultz and the Lakers would go with Ball.
That’s exactly how it played out, and the Celtics ended up with Tatum at No. 3.
The rest, as the source puts it, is history.
Ball may not deserve all of the blame for how that draft unfolded, and injuries have complicated what looked like a promising career. But the Lakers’ decision to pass on Tatum looms large, and Ball’s latest remarks make it sound as if that old regret is still hanging around.
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