Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have been criticized for their relationship or "lack thereof" since becoming Celtics teammates in 2017.
While Brown's name has been brought up in trade rumors over the years due to the naysayers believing the All-Star duo couldn't get over the hump, it doesn't seem like the subject if they get along with one another will end any time soon despite them finally winning a championship last month.
In a recent interview with Chris Mannix for Sports Illustrated, Tatum admitted he regrets not being more vocal in support of Brown during those tough times.
"I've always told him that maybe I could have done a better job of voicing my feelings in the public eye," Tatum told Mannix. "He always knew that I wanted him here. I would always tell him like, 'Man, I don't get involved with any of those talks.' I never went to Brad [Stevens] or went to any player like, 'Yo, I want this guy in, I want this guy out of here.' I show up, and I want to do my job and play basketball.
"And looking back on in those moments, I didn't know how that could affect somebody because I was never in that situation. I feel like, maybe, I could have done a better job of publicly saying, 'No, we don't want anybody, we want JB.' I just was always like, 'I want to stay out of it.'"
The relationship between Taum and Brown continues to be scrutinized, unfair or not, following the Celtics championship run. When Brown -- visibly shocked -- won Eastern Conference Finals MVP, there were arguments about whether Tatum was genuinely happy for his teammate. Even after Brown won the NBA Finals MVP, there were debates on who deserved the award despite both Tatum and Brown speaking before the Celtics finally captured their 18th title, that it didn't matter who was named MVP as long as they got to hoist the Larry O'Brien trophy together.
It didn't help matters when Tatum seemed uncomfortable answering questions about Brown not making Team USA's 2024 Olympic squad after Kawhi Leonard withdrew, as Derrick White -- his other Celtics teammate -- got the call instead.
Still, it appears that Tatum and Brown's relationship has been fine all these years but more so behind closed doors than what the public or media has seen. Speaking on NBC Sports Boston's Early Edition, Mannix provided more insight on what he took away from his sitdown with Tatum.
"[Tatum] always told [Brown] privately, 'I've got your back,'" Mannix said Thursday night. "People around him have always said to me, 'Look, Jayson has no problem with Jaylen Brown. He wants to play with Jaylen Brown. He believes they can win with Jaylen Brown.' But I think sometimes these stories got some legs because we didn't hear a lot from Jayson Tatum. He never criticized Jaylen Brown. He maybe wasn't as vocal as he could have been."These are not two guys that are very often gonna be photographed at Dave & Buster's hanging out together. They're different people. They've always been different people. But that doesn't mean that they can't coexist as teammates and they can't thrive in that relationship because we have seen them thrive in that relationship. And I think this year for Jaylen Brown where he got his money, he's going to make over $300 million when his new contract kicks in, that's a big bag. And he got his accolades."And I think Tatum, one thing we talked about was that he was happy that Jaylen Brown got the conference finals MVP because he felt over the years Jaylen Brown kind of got the short end of the stick. He was often overlooked in the shadow of the accomplishments that Jayson Tatum has had. Now, he's getting that recognition. The first guy I think to be happy for him was Jayson Tatum."
Brown seemingly has nothing more to prove with three All-Star nods to his credit, an All-NBA selection plus back-to-back MVP awards in the East and NBA Finals to go along with a championship, don't be surprised if he comes into the 2024-25 season with that extra motivation following is All-Defensive Team and Olympic roster snub.
With the signing of Sam Hauser to a contract extension earlier this week essentially being the final piece of Brad Stevens running it back with the same team that just won the NBA title, Brown and the Celtics have a great chance to repeat as champs for the first time since the 2017-18 Golden State Warriors.
Joel Pavón
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