Boston Celtics
“Like, this ain’t no [expletive] Shaq and Kobe. Like, there’s no beef. It’s not about that.”
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown won a title together in 2024. Erin Clark / Boston Globe
October 24, 2026 | 12:16 AM
4 minutes to read
A day after Jaylen Brown seemed to call out Jayson Tatum for saying he didn’t know about his impending trade to the 76ers, Tatum offered an extended response about the social-media frenzy, his relationship with Brown, and the need for both stars to have a “conversation” moving forward.
Despite scoring 36 points — including several clutch buckets late in the fourth quarter — to secure a 107-103 win over the Knicks in Boston’s home opener on Friday, Tatum primarily fielded questions about Brown and the tension between the two ex-teammates after the victory.
Brown — who was dealt to the 76ers in a stunning trade in July — set off a social-media frenzy on Thursday.
In a vlog released by Tatum, the Celtics star forward reacted to Brown’s trade — noting that he was “just as much caught off guard as the rest of the world” after the 2024 NBA Finals MVP was dealt.
But in a video of Tatum’s comments — posted by Bleacher Report on Instagram — Brown commented from his own account with an emoji of a blue baseball cap.
“Cap” — and the matching emoji — is a slang term that represents a lie, exaggeration, or something else that isn’t true — with “no cap” signifying something that is true.
Jayson Tatum on the Jaylen Brown trade in a recent interview:
“I was just as much caught off guard as the rest of the world.”
Jaylen Brown in the comments: pic.twitter.com/dia6lscJ2E
— Underdog NBA (@UnderdogNBA) October 23, 2026
Because Brown seemed to imply Tatum was lying about having no prior intel that his teammate of nine years would be traded, the relationship between the two players was a hot topic across the NBA on Friday.
But speaking after Friday’s win, Tatum issued an extended initial response when asked of his reaction to Brown’s social-media comments.
Here’s Tatum’s initial comment, in full:
“For me — I understand being in an entertainment business. Me personally, I’m not much of an off-the-court entertainer type of guy. 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 on our, you know, 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? And it’s turned into this, like, drama type of thing.
“It’s like … I got two kids, you know what I’m saying? Like, I reached out to him the day he got traded. Like, I called him, I text him. And I understand people process things differently. So for me, you know, like, at this point in our lives, like we’re too old to be having our relationship discussed X-Y-Z, like on the internet. Like 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. I’ve seen all these things like — ‘Get your popcorn ready when they play.’ It’s not a [expletive] boxing match, like, [we] play basketball. I don’t — like I said, again. There’s no animosity. There’s no beef. I just hate the way that — the conversation or the narrative around it, when there’s not enough communication. And I think a conversation would solve, or you know, put out a lot of fires. And again, you know, people process and handle things at their own time, and whenever, you know, that it happens, it’ll happen.”
The Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn later asked Tatum whether he and Brown just need to meet to settle whatever hard feelings remain after their split.
“I’m not saying it’s going to be a bad conversation,” Tatum replied. “I just think, especially in sports and in the NBA, I think sometimes there is not enough communication. Not to blame y’all, but sometimes media or outside [noise] can just continue to push or speculate. Rightfully so, that’s y’all job. And like I said, he just turned 30. I’m 28. I got two kids. Like it’s just as adults, just a conversation.”
“I’m not saying it’s gonna be a bad one or anything like that. It’s just communication and a conversation. Usually, you know, you just get to — right/wrong. You understand, you know, the other side, and you know, I think that’s just like it’s not done enough, especially in our business.”
Tatum and Brown’s relationship and the ramifications of that July trade between Boston and Philadelphia will be one of the top storylines throughout the 2026-27 season — and will likely have an impact well beyond this current campaign.
But Tatum stressed that he doesn’t want the narrative around him and his longtime teammate to be one steeped in drama and animosity — although such sentiment will likely be echoed once Tatum and Brown meet on the court for the first time as foes on Nov. 10 in Philadelphia.
“I’m not like blaming anybody for how they feel, right? Everybody is entitled to their own feelings, and we all go through different things in our lives,” Tatum added. “Just for me, and I mean, all of y’all kind of saw us grow up and everything that we accomplished, and 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?
“I mean, people played in this league and never went to the finals. We went twice and won a championship. So it should be more about that. Like, this ain’t no [expletive] Shaq and Kobe. Like, there’s no beef. It’s not about that. It should be more, you know, praise. I understand that …. drama gets clicks and views, but I’m not really into — that’s not my thing.
Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.
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