Jayson Tatum wasn’t interested in letting the Jaylen Brown trade chatter write the story for him.
After Brown’s response to a recent YouTube video pushed the breakup narrative back into the spotlight, Tatum used his postgame session Friday night to push back on the idea that there’s some simmering feud between the two former Celtics teammates. He said he gets that they’re in the “entertainment business,” but made it clear that playing up drama off the floor isn’t really his style.
“For me, I don't have any animosity or beef or ill will towards him, and I think the frustrating part is that, since you know he's not with the Celtics anymore, the narrative or the conversations haven't been enough about what we accomplished,” Tatum said at his postgame media session.
Tatum pointed back to what he and Brown built together in Boston, saying they won a championship and grew alongside each other over nearly a decade as teammates. He also stressed that the online obsession with their relationship has gone too far.
Earlier this week, Tatum posted a video on his YouTube channel in which he said he was “just as much caught off guard” as everyone else when Boston traded Brown to the 76ers this offseason. He also said he was surprised Brown had been moved “down the street” to Philadelphia.
Brown answered with a cap emoji on a social media post that highlighted that part of Tatum’s comments. The emoji is commonly used online to signal someone isn’t being truthful.
Tatum didn’t dodge that response, but he didn’t feed the fire either.
“It’s turned into this drama type of thing ... I got two kids.
I reached out to him the day he got traded. I called him.
I texted him. I understand people process things differently,” Tatum said.
“For me, at this point in our lives, we too old to be having our relationship discussed like x, y, and z, on the internet.”
He added: “I think a conversation would solve or put out a lot of fires.”
Tatum also said he has always “wished the best” for Brown and has said so publicly. And while the buildup to the first matchup between the two has only grown louder, Tatum wasn’t playing along with the full-blown spectacle.
He suggested fans can “get your popcorn ready,” but also made one thing plain: “This ain't a [expletive] boxing match. I play basketball,” he said.
On the court, Tatum backed it up Friday night by leading the Celtics past the defending champion New York Knicks for their first win of the season. He finished with 36 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in Boston’s 107-103 victory.
The result moved Boston to 1-1. Brown, meanwhile, has helped Philadelphia jump out to a 2-0 start, including a 29-point comeback win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night.
The Celtics and 76ers will see each other for the first time on Tuesday, Nov. 10, in Philadelphia at 8 p.m. ET, with more meetings coming next year. With both teams off to strong starts, the matchup already has the look of one worth circling.
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