BOSTON — Jayson Tatum used most of his postgame press conference to clear the air Friday night. After knocking down three clutch shots in the final two minutes against the Knicks at TD Garden, Tatum addressed his former teammate Jaylen Brown.
On Thursday night, after Brown and the 76ers mounted a 29-point comeback against the Cavaliers, he took to Instagram to comment “cap” under a video clip from Tatum’s ‘Summer of Jayson’ docuseries. In the video, Tatum recalled being stunned by the news that Boston
had traded Brown, his longtime teammate of nine seasons, to Philadelphia on July 1.
Brown seemingly wasn’t convinced, using the modern-day slang term, which means an exaggeration or lie.
Tatum, in response, wishes to bury the online speculation as soon as possible and move on.
“I understand we in the entertainment business,” Tatum said after Friday night’s 107-104 win over the Knicks. “Me personally, I’m not much of an off-the-court entertainment type of guy. For me, I don’t have any animosity or beef or ill will towards him.”
In the finale of Tatum’s docuseries, he claimed he was in Las Vegas during the time of the trade. Tatum explained how teammate Sam Hauser broke the news to him and that Philadelphia being the destination for Brown caught him “off guard,” as much as anyone else.
That leaves a lot on the table to be speculated.
Tatum shared a goodbye message to Brown on Instagram, two days after the blockbuster. Communication between the two stayed under wraps for months, opening the door for uninformed conclusions. Neither of the two spoke out about their split at length, with Brown keeping his answers vague on media day in Philadelphia, and Tatum briefly addressing it at the Auerbach Center during Boston’s media day.
When the Celtics hosted the Sixers in the preseason over a week ago in Boston, Tatum and Brown warmed up at the same time — on direct opposite ends of the court. When the two were done, they made no direct eye contact, didn’t greet each other, and headed to their respective players’ tunnels as if to avoid one another.
The two presumably have yet to speak since the trade, although Tatum claims he made several attempts shortly after Boston pulled the trigger to speak to Brown.
In fact, Tatum is still open to having that discussion with Brown whenever the 2024 NBA Finals MVP is ready.
“I reached out to him the day he got traded,” Tatum shared. “I called him. I texted him. And I understand people process things differently. So for me, at this point in our lives, we’re too old to be having our relationship discussed, X, Y, and Z, on the internet. There’s a conversation to be had. We can definitely have that conversation. I’m hoping that.”
In the meantime, Tatum looks forward to getting back to basketball as usual, minus the theatrics. That day is still a ways off, as Brown won’t return to Boston for his first regular-season matchup against Tatum and the Celtics until Jan. 21, 2027. The two will first cross paths in Philadelphia on Nov. 10, with three more matchups scheduled for later in the season: Jan. 21 in Boston, Feb. 7 in Philadelphia and March 7 in Boston.
“I see all these things about ‘Get your popcorn ready when they play,’” Tatum said. “Like, this ain’t no f*cking boxing match. We play basketball. Again, there’s no animosity. There’s no beef. I just hate the way that the conversation, the narrative around it, went.”
Using Tatum and Brown as segment and online topic fodder was a constant all summer long. On talk shows, online blogs, and endlessly on social media, jumping to conclusions without hearing from either Tatum or Brown directly became the most worn-out offseason subject.
Still, Tatum might not have a full scope of Brown’s feelings or perspective on the trade. But that’s for them to discuss both privately and on their time.
“I think a conversation would solve or put out a lot of fires,” Tatum said.
Tatum and Brown spent nearly a decade together, leading the Celtics to five Eastern Conference Finals, two NBA Finals and a championship. Being the lone superstar in Boston now, Tatum would prefer those moments be what overrule the dialogue surrounding both him and Brown rather than rumored bad blood.
“All of y’all saw us grow up and all that we accomplished, and I don’t want that to be in the rearview mirror of what’s being talked about when it pertains to us two,” Tatum said. “It should be celebrated. You know how many people played 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 f*cking Shaq and Kobe. There’s no beef. It’s not about that.”
