For the first time since they spent nine prolific seasons together, while rising to the top of the NBA, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown will face off as opponents in the regular season.
The Boston Celtics (8-2) head to Philadelphia Tuesday, Nov. 10 to battle the 76ers (9-2), the team that acquired Brown in a July blockbuster trade
. And with that comes the next chapter in a relationship that has at times became tense and uncomfortable.Despite that, as the game approaches, both sides have been sure to down play any drama.
“It’s nothing to talk about,” Brown told reporters Sunday, Nov. 8. “I mean, he’s on his side, I’m on my side. Just playing basketball. Both of us are trying to win, so it’s nothing to talk about. Just check the ball up.”
Yet, now
that we’re three weeks into the 2026-27 season, it’s a fair time to pose a couple questions.
One: is there a clear winner in the trade? And, two: will either team come to regret their choice?
At first glance, it’s like a rare case where the move benefitted both sides; entering Monday night, these were the top two teams in the Eastern Conference. The Celtics were leading the NBA in net rating (+11.6), and the Sixers have been seamlessly sharing the ball and rank third in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.01).
It’s necessary, however, to point out a few caveats here. The sample size remains rather small and, entering Monday night, the Celtics had played the NBA’s easiest strength of schedule (.396), according to ESPN; Philadelphia’s, by comparison, ranked 20th (.476).
To be clear, neither of these points are disqualifying, but both teams – Boston in particular – need to demonstrate that they can sustain these levels over time and against the league’s better competition.
The most positive sign for both teams is that the issues that originally forced the divorce in the first place don’t appear to have carried over.
Dating back to their first seasons as stars in Boston, the narrative surrounding Tatum and Brown was that they were not optimal fits. They both excel with the ball in their hands, and both can create their own shot with ease. That often led to a disjointed offense, where they often took turns scoring in isolation.
In Boston, Paul George, whom Philadelphia sent to Boston in the Brown trade, has been nothing but steady. He has acknowledged that his sole role is to be complementary to Tatum, and his 20.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game are more than sufficient.
In Philadelphia, Brown’s numbers are a little better (22.3/6.7/4.0), but he has directly addressed the dynamics of his new team, saying point guard Tyrese Maxey “has been leading the way for sure” and that the Sixers are “his team,” referring to Maxey.
Brown has been more provocative in his public comments about any feud between he and Tatum. He recently posted an emoji of a blue hat – which is another way to say cap, or slang that someone is being dishonest – to a video on social media in which Tatum said he was caught off guard by the July trade. Even in a recent comment that began with praise for Tatum, Brown snuck in a sly jab.
“I think he’s right,” Brown said Oct. 24. “There’s no beef. Jayson comes from a wonderful family. We’ve accomplished some great things, he’s a hell of a basketball player, he got a great (public relations) team. There’s no beef, but it might be a little lamb chops and some gravy, and he should stay ready at all times.”
In their first meeting as opponents, a preseason game Oct. 16 in which Brown did not play, both players warmed up on opposite sides of the floor and did not acknowledge each other, at least not publicly.
“All of y’all kind of saw us grow up and everything that we accomplished,” Tatum said recently. “... Like, how many people play in this league and never went to the Finals? We went twice and won a championship. So it should be more about that. This ain’t no (expletive) Shaq and Kobe. It’s not about that.
“It should be more praise, and I understand that don’t necessarily sell. Drama gets clicks and views, but that’s not my thing.”
This all raises one last question, about whether it’s fair to criticize players on the same team for not being friends off the floor. Just because their work is televised and just because they’re paid handsomely does not mandate that they be forced into any sort of deeper bond we fans and media seemingly expect out of athletes. At the end of the day, they are – at least in professional terms – merely employees just like you and I. And just like you and I may have colleagues with whom we might not necessarily align, these players are entitled just the same.
This trade was not executed because of any perceived fractured friendship. The Celtics clearly prioritized one player’s skill set over another’s, and they made a difficult choice, one that does not come without some risk. They wanted to divest away from having two max contracts.
Tuesday night’s game is just the next logical step, nothing more.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Where's the beef? First Tatum vs. Brown showdown could provide early scorecard
