There could be some truth to the rumors that former Boston Celtics teammates Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum aren’t on the best of terms.
After getting shipped out of Boston, Brown revealed that only the younger players on the Celtics reached out to him to wish him the best with the Philadelphia 76ers. Interestingly, he did not mention Tatum’s name at any point during his Twitch stream.
“I’ve already talked to some of the guys,” Brown revealed on Thursday (h/t CelticsBlog).
“Some of the guys have already reached out from the Celtics and stuff like that. Some of the young guys, so I appreciate them. Because it was an honor this year. It still was my favorite season so far.”
Brown had similarly called the 2025-26 season his “favorite” barely 24 hours after he and the Celtics blew a 3-1 series lead against the Sixers in the playoffs. From his perspective, the season was memorable since the C’s were counted out and predicted to endure a “gap year” while waiting for Tatum to return from injury. Brown proved a lot of those detractors wrong by leading the Celtics to 56 wins and the second seed.
Jaylen Brown Thanks Celtics Who Reached Out
Brown named Luka Garza and Neemias Queta among the Celtics players who reached out to him after he was traded to the Sixers.
“The guys that I was able to build with, those guys that reached out to me, just told me — Neemy (Queta), Luka (Garza), all those guys told me ‘It was a pleasure to play with you, and I appreciate everything that you helped with.’
“So that’s the stuff that gives you more motivation to keep going. So I’m grateful, and it was a pleasure. If this was my last year as a Celtic, this was an awesome year.”
Were the Jays Destined to Break Up?
There have been conflicting reports about the relationship between Tatum and Brown in the months leading to the latter’s trade. Insiders Shams Charania and Ramona Shelburne reported the Celtics determined that they could no longer compete for a championship with the two Jays leading the team.
“Whether it was personal situations between the two players or whether it was just the on-court basketball fit, the Celtics had just made the determination that, moving forward, they can no longer win a championship, clearly, with Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum,” Charania told ESPN’s “Get Up” on Thursday.
“He wanted to be the number one option and it would be hard for him to go back into more of a supporting role with Jason Tatum,” Shelburne said of Brown.
However, a source close to Tatum’s camp squashed the rumors of a beef with Brown.
“That’s false. They do [like each other]. They’re just two different people. They have a really good work relationship,” the source told Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson.
“The things that they do on and off the court don’t necessarily align, but there is surely a mutual respect. On the court, in the gym, day to day shit, they’re best work buddies. Off the court they’re just not.”
The first time the Celtics play the Sixers next season should make for great TV.
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