After the explosive trade that sent star forward Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers for veteran forward Paul George and draft assets earlier this summer, many fans of the Boston Celtics are still understandably irked with Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens for the move.
But some have elected to take the glass half-full approach to the controversial move, including acclaimed actor, musician, and Boston sports superfan Mark Wahlberg. The erstwhile Marky Mark recently shared his perspective on the trade in an interview with Sports Illustrated’s Greg Cally to talk about his new film "By Any Means" with costar Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, and the NBA and the Celtics came up as is often the case when Wahlberg is involved.
Referencing
the season behind Boston that saw Brown carry the team for the bulk of the campaign when Tatum was rehabbing the Achilles tendon injury he suffered vs. the New York Knicks in the 2025 NBA Playoffs, Wahlberg seemed upbeat about the Celtics' chances in the season ahead.
"I think they'll do better to really now have an opportunity for Jayson Tatum to show what he can do," predicted the Boston native.
"Jaylen Brown showed us what he could do last year in carrying the team while Tatum was out. I think now it's an opportunity for Tatum to do the same."
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This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Boston superfan Mark Wahlberg sees 2026-27 Celtics season as opportunity for Jayson Tatum
