Jayson Tatum has reflected on the end of his long partnership with Jaylen Brown after the Boston Celtics traded their 2024 NBA Finals MVP to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Brown had been Tatum’s team-mate throughout the forward’s development from a promising rookie into one of the NBA’s leading stars, with the pair playing together for nine seasons and combining to lead Boston to the 2024 championship.
The Celtics ultimately chose to move Brown in a deal widely viewed as a cost-cutting measure, bringing an end to one of the longest-running partnerships in the Eastern Conference.
Tatum said the reality of the NBA eventually means difficult decisions have to be made, but wanted to focus on what he and Brown achieved together.
“The business of the NBA comes and plays a part at some point. And I’ve seen it in my almost 10 years in this league,” Tatum said during Celtics media day on Monday.
“For me it’s more so being grateful for what we accomplished and what he means for this city and to this organization. Just the ups and downs in our career that we were able to grow and learn from and made us the players that we are today. So really just being thankful for those nine years.”
Questions over the pair’s relationship away from the court had followed them throughout their time together, particularly as both players eventually signed contracts worth more than $300 million.
Tatum ready to lead new-look Celtics
The six-time All-Star enters the season as Boston’s biggest player, with the Celtics also having to adjust following major changes to their roster.
Paul George was acquired in the trade involving Brown, while the Celtics also added Mitchell Robinson and Mike Conley Jr.
Tatum said he is comfortable taking greater responsibility as he prepares to return for his first full season since suffering a torn Achilles during the 2025 NBA playoffs.
“Yeah, very comfortable. This is Year 10,” Tatum said. “Leadership is about a lot of different things. Awareness is the biggest one. Self-awareness, awareness of the group. And just understanding we all have roles and we’re just kind of simply in this together. So it looks different from person to person.”
Head coach Joe Mazzulla does not believe Boston needs to define the new team simply by what has been lost.
“I don’t think that it’s necessarily the phrase ‘without Jaylen,’” Mazzulla said. “Every year you’re getting new players, old players, the same players that you have coming back expand their games and they look differently. So it’s not as much what it looks like without one person or the other as much as it’s what’s our roster, how can we take advantage of the strengths and talent that we have.”
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