Injured Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum looks over at Jaylen Brown during the first half of an NBA game at the TD Garden this past season. (Photo By Matt Stone/Boston Herald)
Injured Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum looks over at Jaylen Brown during the first half of an NBA game at the TD Garden this past season. (Photo By Matt Stone/Boston Herald)
In a raw postgame news conference Friday night, Jayson Tatum insisted he has no “beef” with former Celtics co-star Jaylen Brown and called the persistent discourse about their relationship “frustrating.”
His comments came one day after Brown, who was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers this summer after 10 seasons in Boston, replied with a “cap” emoji to a video of Tatum saying he “was just as much caught off guard as the rest of the world” by the trade, implying that his longtime teammate was being untruthful.
“I understand we’re in the entertainment business. Me personally, I’m not much of an off-the-court entertainer type of guy,” Tatum said when asked about Brown’s reaction after the Celtics’ 107-103 win over the New York Knicks at TD Garden. “And for me, I don’t have any animosity or beef or ill will towards him, right? And I think the frustrating part is since he’s not with the Celtics anymore, the narrative or the conversations haven’t been enough about what we accomplished, all the games we won, winning the championship, how we’ve grown together, right? It’s turned into this drama type of thing.
“I’m not — I got two kids, you know what I’m saying? Like, I reached out to him the day he got traded. 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 like on the internet.
“There’s a conversation to be had. We can definitely have that conversation. I welcome that, right? I’ve always wanted the best for him and wished the best for him. I’ve always publicly said those things. And I’ve seen all these things about, ‘get your popcorn ready when they play’ — like, it’s no (expletive) boxing match. Like, play basketball. Again, there’s no animosity. There’s no beef, and I just hate the way that the conversation and narrative around it (is). It’s not enough communication. And I think a conversation would solve, or put out a lot of fires. And again, people process things at their own time, and whenever that happens, it will happen.”
Long viewed as the Celtics’ 1B to Tatum’s 1A during their nine years together, Brown posted career-best numbers in his final season with the Celtics, most of which Tatum missed while he recovered from Achilles surgery. Brown said multiple times that it was his favorite season of his NBA career, maintaining that stance even after Boston blew a 3-1 series lead to Philadelphia and was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 2021.
In his introductory Sixers news conference in August, Brown said he and Tatum had “not really” spoken since the trade. Tatum suggested a conversation between the two Celtics greats might alleviate any lingering negativity.
“I’m not saying there’s going to be a bad conversation,” Tatum said. “I just think, especially in sports and in the NBA, I think sometimes there’s not enough communication. Not to blame y’all, but sometimes the media or the outside can continue to push or speculate, right, rightfully so. That’s your job. And, like I said, he just turned 30. I’m 28. I’ve got two kids. It’s just, as adults, just a conversation.
“I’m not going to say it’s a bad one or anything like that. Just communication and a conversation usually — you just get the right, wrong, you understand the other side. I think that’s just like it’s not done enough, especially in our business.”
Is Tatum disappointed that Brown seemingly buys into that narrative — that all is not rosy between the two?
“I’m not blaming anybody for how they feel, right? Everybody is entitled to their own feelings,” Tatum said. “We all go through different things in our lives. Just, for me, all of y’all kind of saw us grow up. Everything that we accomplished. I don’t want that to be in the rearview mirror of what’s being talked about when it pertains to us, too. It should be celebrated, right? How many people played in this league and never went to the Finals? We went twice and won a championship. It should be more about that.
“This ain’t no (expletive) Shaq and Kobe. There’s no beef. It’s not about that. It should be more praise. I understand that don’t necessarily sell, and drama gets clicks and views. But I’m not really into — that’s not my thing.”
Tatum scored 36 points in Boston’s win over New York, his most since the game in which he tore his Achilles in May 2025. Brown is off to a strong start for the 2-0 Sixers, averaging 20 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
The two will face off for the first time as opponents on Nov. 10, when the Celtics visit the 76ers for the first of four regular-season matchups between the Atlantic Division rivals.