Since joining forces on the Boston Celtics in 2017, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown’s relationship has been a subject of intense scrutiny, both on and off the court. Over the years, Brown has often found himself at the center of trade rumors, enduring criticism while the duo repeatedly fell just short of securing a championship—until they finally achieved victory last month, securing Banner 18 for the Celtics.
In a candid conversation with Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated, Tatum opened up about his regrets over not publicly supporting Brown during those challenging times.
“I’ve always told him that maybe I could have done a better job of voicing my feelings in the public eye,” Tatum shared with Mannix. “He always knew that I wanted him here. I would always tell him like, ‘Man, I don’t get involved with any of those talks.’ I never went to Brad (Stevens) or went to any player like, ‘Yo, I want this guy in, I want this guy out of here.’ I show up, and I want to do my job and play basketball.
“And looking back on those moments, I didn’t know how that could affect somebody because I was never in that situation. I feel like, maybe, I could have done a better job of publicly saying, ‘No, we don’t want anybody, we want JB.’ I just was always like, ‘I want to stay out of it.'”
Despite their successful postseason run, speculation about Tatum and Brown’s relationship persisted. After Brown was named Eastern Conference MVP, ESPN’s “Get Up!” questioned whether Tatum was genuinely happy for his teammate. Additionally, Tatum appeared uncomfortable addressing Brown’s omission from Team USA’s 2024 Paris Olympics roster.
In his discussion with Mannix, Tatum emphasized that he has always supported Brown privately, even if it wasn’t evident to the public.
“(Tatum) always told (Brown) privately, ‘I’ve got your back,'” Mannix noted. “People around him have always said to me, ‘Look, Jayson has no problem with Jaylen Brown. He wants to play with Jaylen Brown. He believes they can win with Jaylen Brown.’ But I think sometimes these stories got some legs because we didn’t hear a lot from Jayson Tatum. He never criticized Jaylen Brown. He maybe wasn’t as vocal as he could have been.
“These are not two guys that are very often gonna be photographed at Dave & Buster’s hanging out together. They’re different people. They’ve always been different people. But that doesn’t mean that they can’t coexist as teammates and they can’t thrive in that relationship because we have seen them thrive in that relationship.”
Mannix also highlighted Brown’s significant achievements, including a supermax contract, three All-Star selections, a conference finals MVP award, and an NBA Finals MVP. Despite these accolades, Brown’s All-NBA, All-Defense, and Team USA snubs are likely to fuel his motivation for the 2024-25 season.
This extra drive could benefit the Celtics as they aim to become the first NBA team to repeat as champions since the Golden State Warriors in 2017-18. With a nearly identical roster to the one that triumphed over the Dallas Mavericks in the 2024 Finals, the Celtics are poised for another strong campaign.
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