Home · Sports · Oct 26 archive

Tatum and Brown Downplay Drama After Trade

10:18 PM ETConfirmed

Sports Desk

In Short: Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown downplay any drama following Brown's trade from the Boston Celtics to the Philadelphia 76ers.

Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum and former teammate Jaylen Brown, now with the Philadelphia 76ers, have been trading comments that have sparked speculation about a rift between them.

Tatum, speaking to reporters at the Auerbach Center on Sunday, said, “There is no drama with Brown. We went twice and won a championship, so it should be more about that. Man, this ain't no [expletive] Shaq and Kobe. There is no beef.”

Brown, in response to Tatum’s comments, posted a blue cap emoji on Instagram, a social media jargon for a lie or false statement, in response to a video of Tatum discussing the blockbuster trade that split up the Celtics’ dynamic duo.

Brown told reporters after the Sixers beat Milwaukee on Saturday night, “There's no beef,” and reiterated that sentiment after his 30th birthday celebration with a strong performance against the Philadelphia 76ers.

Tatum emphasized the importance of communication and understanding between adults, saying, “I don't want to put any restrictions, or what type of conversation -- I'm not saying it's going to be a bad conversation.”

Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla was asked to weigh in on the drama between the two, stating, “There’s no beef. Jayson comes from a wonderful family. We’ve accomplished some great things. He’s a hell of a basketball player. He’s got a great PR team. There’s no beef, but there might be a little lamb chops and gravy, you know what I mean? He should stay ready at all times.”

Brown’s exclusion from the 2020 and 2024 Olympics squads that Tatum was on, and the fact that the Celtics drafted Tatum a year after Brown and immediately inserted him into the starting lineup while it took Brown until his fourth season to earn a consistent spot, may have contributed to the tension.

Despite the drama, Tatum has repeatedly complimented Brown, acknowledging their successful tenure together that included winning the NBA Finals in 2024.

The tension between Tatum and Brown has been a topic of discussion for years, and it has only grown louder since Brown’s trade to the Philadelphia 76ers.

Tatum’s 36-point performance in the Celtics' win over the Knicks was overshadowed by the postgame back-and-forth with Brown.

The feud is shaping up to be the rare genuine personal drama between NBA stars at a time when the league is dominated by polished, reserved stars.

What this adds

Background

What's confirmed

• There is no drama with Brown, according to Tatum.
• Oct 23, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) reacts during the second half against the New York Knicks at TD Garden.
• “So for me, at this point in our lives, we’re too old to be having our relationship discussed X, Y and Z on the internet,” Tatum said.
• Brown said he and Tatum had “not really” been able to talk about their breakup during his 76ers introductory press conference on Aug. 6, over one month after he was traded.
• The Celtics superstar praised his time playing with Brown, highlighting their successful tenure together that included winning the NBA Finals in 2024.
• He was then asked about Jaylen Brown’s blue cap emoji — social media jargon for a lie or false statement — comment on a video clip of Tatum explaining his reaction to the blockbuster trade that split up the Celtics’ dynamic duo.
• The seemingly fractured relationship between Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown has made headlines throughout the first week of the new NBA season, with the former teammates trading retorts during postgame press conferences. ​Speaking to reporters at the Auerbach Center on Sunday, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla was asked to weigh in on the drama between the two.
• “There's no beef,” Brown said after the Sixers beat Milwauke e on Saturday night.
• Tatum started the postgame back-and-forth on after the Celtics beat the Knicks a night earlier Brown posted a social media response that took issue with Tatum saying in a video on his YouTube channel that he was “just as much caught off guard as the rest of the world” by Brown’s trade to the Philadelphia.
• Photo by Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire NBA: NOV 21 Celtics at Bulls Icon22112122 The tension between Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown followed them for years as Boston Celtics teammates, and it has only grown louder since Brown’s trade to the Philadelphia 76ers.

What's still developing

• Now that he’s more than a year and a half removed from surgery — 16 1/2 months, he specifically noted — will Tatum look like the player who made four straight All-NBA first teams in 2022, ’23, ’24 and ’25?
• For most of their nine-year partnership, during which the Celtics won one championship and 20 more postseason games than any other NBA club, Tatum and Brown operated as the team’s 1A and 1B, respectively.
• He’s “there to support (Tatum) in all facets,” the 36-year-old said, and plans to draw on the lessons he learned playing alongside Kawhi Leonard with the Los Angeles Clippers.
• "Jaylen brown really always wanted that dude to win and it was never truly reciprocated."
• 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 Obviously, that comment went even more viral than the video of Tatum.
• Brown sparked discourse about his relationship with Tatum over the last few days, taking to Instagram to respond with a “cap” emoji — a slang term for something untrue — to a video of Tatum discussing Brown’s trade to Philly in the offseason. ​ In the video, Tatum said he had no prior knowledge that the Celtics were going to trade Brown to an Atlantic Division rival in the Sixers.
• Bad deal, “welcome to being the guy, JT.” Ultimately, NBA fans won’t know who “won” the Brown trade for a few years when the draft picks involved in the deal convey, unless the Sixers or Celtics win a championship before that happens.
• It started when Tatum posted a sponsored documentary on his YouTube channel on Thursday night in which he shared his shocked reaction to Brown getting traded to the 76ers.
• It could have been Brown’s constant proclamations that the 2025–26 season that Tatum missed most of was by far the favorite of his career.
• Celtics' star Jayson Tatum cleared the air, shutting down rumors of a rift with Jaylen Brown following Boston's season-ending exit.
• Tatum isn’t measuring his impact purely in the box score; he is manipulating defensive rotations, using his length to read passing lanes over double-teams, and whipping crisp skip passes to shooters in rhythm.
• Brown celebrated his 30th birthday on Saturday with 27 points that included a late 3-pointer on a pass from Joel Embiid that gave the All-Star center a triple-double.

Sources

• 985Thesportshublink
• Awful Announcinglink
• BasketballNews.comlink
• Bolaviplink
• Bostonlink
• Bozeman Daily Chroniclelink
• Sbnationlink
• Sports Illustratedlink
• Boston Heraldlink
• Boston Sports Journallink
• Inquirer.netlink
• Ottumwa Courierlink
• Sports Illustratedlink
• WarpBeat — background on Tatum and Brown Downplay NBA Drama link
• WarpBeat — background on Celtics' Tatum and Brown Downplay Drama After Trade link
• NBA on ESPN — video link