Appreciate what the Jayson Tatum-Jaylen Brown duo achieved, regardless of current feelings

If Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown do harbor some level of animosity toward each other now, that is truly a shame.

For so long, they were a shining example of how much an NBA superstar duo could survive together. They were proof that not every team should make wholesale changes at the first sign of trouble. Their partnership stood as a symbol of resilience and determination.

Maybe their relationship is still in a good place after the Celtics traded Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers, but the two have made it easy to speculate otherwise. The latest possible hint of dissension came from Tatum, who took what many perceived as a dig at Brown while speaking recently at a camp in St. Louis.

Where does the Jaylen Brown trade rank in NBA history?

The Athletic NBA Staff and Jeshua Kidd

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“Being a leader doesn’t mean you know it all, right?” Tatum said in a speech shared on social media. “I don’t know it all. I’ll be the first person to say that. Being a leader is being comfortable with raising your hand, like, ‘I don’t know, can you explain that to me?’ ‘I don’t know XYZ. I want to learn.’ Being around somebody that feels like they know it all, I don’t want to be around that person. I don’t want to be the smartest person in the room. I want to learn from somebody else.”

Tatum could have simply been trying to give helpful advice to a gym full of young players. Despite being one of the NBA’s most decorated stars, he has remained an extremely coachable player. He constantly seeks out additional knowledge about the game, his body and anything else that could give him an edge on the court. The topic he addressed in the video, which was initially shared on his foundation’s Instagram page, is a message he clearly believes in.

“Asking questions, being vulnerable — it is OK not to know something,” Tatum continued. “It’s not OK not to ask questions and not to want to learn. Because it’s not how we’re going to get better at anything in life. Not just basketball. Whatever you want to do in life, you have to ask questions. You have to listen. You have to learn.”

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On the surface, that message is a productive one. Still, Tatum worded part of it in a way that sparked some belief he was not-so-sneakily aiming the comment at Brown. Before the 2016 draft, an anonymous NBA executive told sports writer Marc Spears that Brown might be “too smart for the league.” Early this offseason, Fox Sports analyst Colin Cowherd echoed that sentiment, saying two NBA sources told him that Brown has “a disease” where “he suddenly thinks he’s the smartest guy in every room he’s in.”

We might never know whether Tatum actually intended to take a shot at Brown, but, after the Celtics split up the duo this summer, people will continue to wonder whether the two former teammates are on good terms. Though Tatum has expressed gratitude for his time alongside Brown, certain hints popped up during their final season as teammates that, at least basketball-wise, they might no longer have been on the same page.

Whatever they feel about each other now, it won’t change how much they were able to accomplish together. They shouldn’t just be remembered for their 2024 championship, but for everything they were able to push past while on the same side.

Their partnership survived dysfunction and heartbreak. Tatum and Brown made it past the disastrous Kyrie Irving season, an Ime Udoka scandal and several brutal playoff losses. They needed to hear endless chatter about whether they could co-exist but made it work between themselves anyway for nine extremely successful seasons. For a long list of reasons, longevity with one franchise is as hard now as it ever has been in the NBA. It’s an achievement to last nearly a decade alongside one teammate. To do it while dealing with as many setbacks as they did, and still bouncing back from every issue, speaks to their competitive character.

Why did the Celtics trade Jaylen Brown?

Jay King and Jeshua Kidd

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They’re on opposite sides now, of course. That reality should help set up epic matchups between the Celtics and 76ers next season. In just one layer of the drama those games promise to pack, Brown should compete with raw emotion against the franchise that decided he wasn’t worth splitting 70 percent of the salary cap between two players. Will he call for isolation after isolation against Tatum? Will he unleash a throat-slashing gesture in Joe Mazzulla’s direction? Will he glare at Brad Stevens from across the court hours before tip-off? Almost anything is on the table.

Brown’s attempted vengeance will be only one of many reasons for some spicy matchups between the two teams. LeBron James will have another chance to stick it to his longtime rival. Since the Celtics indirectly led James to Philadelphia, he could really make Stevens look bad by contributing to a big season for the 76ers. Plus, Paul George will be running into his former team, and the Celtics will be hoping to redeem themselves after blowing a 3-1 lead against Philadelphia in the first round of the playoffs.

Basketball fans will be eager to see how Tatum and Brown treat each other during those games. As much as they accomplished as teammates, the Celtics are onto a new era.

Appreciate what the Jayson Tatum-Jaylen Brown duo achieved, regardless of current feelings

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