Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown played together for the Boston Celtics for nine years, but what was Tatum and Brown’s friendship like? Both sides have talked about the departure, but according to Brown, they never discussed the trade privately. They were so successful on the court, but seemed not to have much of a friendship, and people noticed it all these years. It’s been pretty awkward between the two since the trade.
Neither Tatum nor Brown can point the finger of blame at the other. It’s on both of them for how they’ve dealt with the situation. At the introductory press conference for the Philadelphia 76ers, Brown told reporters, when asked about Tatum and if they’ve talked since the trade, “not really”. The trade happened on July first, so the fact that it has been over a month since the deal and they still haven’t talked is a bit odd. “We won a championship together. Anybody that you win a championship with, you would think that’s what a brotherhood or a lifelong legacy would entail.”
In the Tatum discussion, Brown concluded by saying, “Obviously, there are ups and downs in any relationship, for sure. But on my end, it’s nothing but respect, besides when he plays the Sixers. I hope he does well. But other than that, everything for me is just based on respect.” It didn’t appear that any animosity existed in those words. Tatum also spoke about Brown, saying it’ll be “weird” playing without him. It was an “abrupt ending” to their time as teammates. Brown did state years ago that he and Tatum are “opposites in a sense”.
A former teammate of the two superstars, Grant Williams, has come out to address his view of Tatum and Brown’s friendship. Williams was a teammate of theirs for four years and stated, “That’s something I can vividly say, is that I don’t think those guys disliked each other at all.” They faced a lot of scrutiny early in their careers because they’ve always been on a team that was supposed to win, and when they didn’t, people wanted one or the other traded. They’ve always tried to split apart one of the best duos this game has ever seen, and their greatness started as soon as they became teammates.
Since 2018, which was Brown and Tatum’s first playoff run as teammates, no duo in the league has won more playoff games, 75. Brown has wanted to be the number-one option for years, but now he will have to share the ball with Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, and LeBron James. Tatum will be the clear-cut first option for the Celtics, which means a lot of pressure will be on him. Their lifestyles may have separated the two, as Tatum is more to himself and Brown is more outgoing, but no one knows the real reason.
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Both Brown and Tatum accomplished something that most duos can’t say they have, and that’s winning a championship. It’ll be interesting to see how they go about playing each other, especially when Brown makes his return to Boston. Based on the reports and how they talk about each other publicly, there isn’t any beef between them, but it didn’t seem like they were close friends. If they really do have something against one another, this could be the making of a great rivalry.
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