Jaylen Brown said he has "nothing but respect for Jayson (Tatum) and the time we played together in Boston." Mitchell Leff / Getty ImagesAug. 6, 2026 Updated 7:52 pm EDTDespite having a relationship that goes back nine seasons as teammates on the Boston Celtics, Jaylen Brown says he and Jayson Tatum have not communicated since Brown was sent to the Philadelphia 76ers in a stunning pre-draft trade.Brown made that revelation during his introductory news conference with the 76ers on Thursday, after a reporter asked if the two had talked since the trade.“Not really,” Brown responded.The former Celtics star went on to clarify that he said he doesn’t dislike Tatum, with whom he won a championship in 2024. The two just haven’t spoken.“On my end, there’s nothing but respect for Jayson and the time we played together in Boston,” Brown said. “I’m going to root for him, except for when he’s playing against the Sixers.”
Brown and Tatum were pillars of the Celtics for a decade — bookend small forwards who constituted one of the best duos in basketball.Finances and the NBA’s second apron ultimately made it difficult to keep them together their entire careers. But, without question, they created one of the best teams of their era, with the Celtics able to compete at a high level year in and year out due in large part to their excellence.Last season, Brown broke out individually with Tatum unavailable most of the regular season. He averaged over 28 points per game and led the Celtics to a 50-win season and the second seed in the Eastern Conference. He was named second-team All-NBA and finished sixth in the MVP voting.But, as Brown’s disclosure Thursday showed, they aren’t the best of friends off the court.Games this season between the Sixers and Celtics are going to hold peak interest. Brown and Tatum are likely to spend a lot of time guarding each other. The two teams are natural rivals, and Brown will play this season with a proverbial chip on his shoulder after being the one who was dealt away from Boston — not Tatum.It will all bear watching to see how it plays out.
