The Two Jays were apparently no longer the best of bedfellows.
Former Boston Celtics co-stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown had a deteriorating relationship off the court last season, Shams Charania of ESPN reported Tuesday in an appearance on “NBA Today.” Charania notes that, while Tatum and Brown fit well together on the court, their personal relationship over the last year or so was “as close to not existent as you could have.”
Tatum, 27, and Brown, 28, were together for nearly a decade in Boston. They were both homegrown Celtics who had played together since 2017 and ultimately both developed into multi-time All-NBA selections while serving as each other’s co-stars in Beantown.
But for the last several years, there were rumors that Tatum and Brown did not quite get along with one another (with Tatum even eventually admitting that those rumors had some truth to them). While that chatter died down a bit after the two stars led the Celtics to an NBA championship in 2024, it never quite went away entirely.
The partnership officially came to an end last week after the Celtics traded Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers as part of package centered around Paul George and draft compensation. Fans also noticed that Tatum’s subsequent farewell message to Brown seemed a little bit off.
Of course, this latest claim about the fraying relationship between Tatum and Brown could also be a measure of damage control on the part of the Celtics. NBA fans have universally skewered Boston over the trade, and Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens even admitted this week that the decision to move on from Brown was mostly motivated by finances.
