Boston Celtics
“They tried to pin us against each other and say one guy shouldn’t be here, but the truth is we had nine amazing years together.”
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown won a title together in 2024. Erin Clark / The Boston Globe
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Jayson Tatum made an appearance on TODAY with Jenna & Sheinelle on Wednesday, promoting his new children’s book.
The interview also touched on his relationship with Jaylen Brown, whom the Celtics traded to the 76ers last week.
Tatum’s appearance comes one day after ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that the personal relationship between Tatum and Brown was “as close to nonexistent as you could have.”
Tatum was asked for his perspective on how things are between himself and Brown.
“I think, for one, I have nothing but love and respect for Jaylen,” Tatum said. “It’s tough, when you’re a professional athlete and everything we do it publicized and nit-picked, and it’s been like that.”
Tatum and Brown played together for nine seasons as members of the Celtics, and they won a championship in 2024.
But, in the years leading up to the championship, Tatum felt that people were trying to drive a wedge between the two stars. The Celtics lost to the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals during Tatum’s rookie season in 2018, and from there the hype surrounding the team escalated.
“There was a period of our career where we hadn’t won a championship yet, but, in retrospect we were only 23 and 21 years old,” Tatum said. “So, the expectations were so high and they just had to try to figure out a reason why we hadn’t won yet.”
“They tried to pin us against each other and say one guy shouldn’t be here and whatnot, but the truth is we had nine amazing years together. We went to the [NBA] Finals twice. We won a championship. So, I’ll forever be grateful for those memories and the time that we spent together.”
Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens said Tatum had no input in the Brown trade. Tatum told NBC News that he was shocked when he heard the news.
The Celtics traded Brown to Philadelphia for Paul George, two first-round picks, and two second-round picks.
Stevens has said having two players combine to make 70 percent of the salary cap would have made competing for championships difficult under new rules of the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement.
The Celtics will still have two players making roughly the same amount of money next year in Tatum and George. George also has a player option for the following season.
Tatum and Brown’s time together in Boston was highly successful and it came to an abrupt end last week.
Tatum said, via his Instagram story, that he wishes Brown nothing but the best.
Khari A. Thompson
Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com. Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.
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Khari A. Thompson
Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com. Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.
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