Philadelphia 76ers forward Jaylen Brown said he is not sure whether he will feel emotional when he faces his former team, the Boston Celtics, on Tuesday night. He also has no interest in repairing his rift with his former co-star Jayson Tatum.
Brown spoke after the Sixers’ 127-121 win over the Chicago Bulls on Sunday, in which he scored 29 points. He said he has not spoken to or seen Tatum since the Celtics traded him in the offseason, and he has no plans to talk to Tatum when the Sixers host Boston.
“It’s nothing to talk about. I mean, he’s on his side, I’m on my side,” Brown said. “Just playing basketball. Both of us are trying to win, so it’s nothing to talk about. Just check the ball up.”
Brown and Tatum played together in Boston for nine seasons. Both were No. 3 overall picks, Brown in 2016 and Tatum a year later. Together, they formed one of the most successful pairings of their era. They guided the Celtics to five Eastern Conference finals appearances and two trips to the NBA Finals, and they won the championship over the Dallas Mavericks in 2024.
Throughout their time together, critics questioned whether the two could work as a duo. Brown and Tatum consistently defended each other publicly and maintained that they could play together. They proved their point in 2024 by winning the Celtics’ first title since 2009.
A Trade That Strained the Relationship
Two years later, Boston traded Brown to Philadelphia for Paul George, two first-round picks (2028 and 2031) and two second-round selections (2028 and 2030). The trade appears to have ended whatever relationship the former teammates had.
Last month, Brown made waves on social media when he posted a blue hat emoji on Instagram. The emoji, a symbol for “cap,” is slang for lying. He was responding to Tatum, who had said in a video on his YouTube channel that he was “just as much caught off guard as the rest of the world” by the trade.
A day later, Tatum addressed the situation directly. “There’s no beef. It’s not about that. It should be more praise,” he said. “I understand drama gets clicks and views, but I’m not really into that. I’m not blaming everybody for how they feel. Everybody is entitled to their own feelings, and we all go through different things in our lives.”
Two days after that, Brown offered a different take. He insisted there was “no beef” between them, but he added that there “might be a little lamb chops and some gravy.” He also repeated that Tatum has a “hell of a PR team.”
“He should stay ready at all times,” Brown added.
Top of the East Collides
Tuesday’s game marks the first meeting between the two since the trade, and it pits the top two teams in the Eastern Conference against each other. The Sixers are 9-2, and the Celtics are 7-2.
Brown said he is not sure how he will react once the game begins. “We’ll see how I feel when we get out there, but as of now, I got no emotion towards anything,” he said. “So I’m just ready to go.”