The long-awaited reunion between Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown led to an awkward moment before the opening tip of Tuesday’s game between the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers.
The matchup in Philly marked the first meeting of the two teams since Brown was traded from the Celtics to the Sixers in the summer.
Brown was sent to Philadelphia in exchange for Paul George, two first-round picks and two second-round picks after years of rumors suggesting he was unhappy in Boston.
When the two met on Tuesday, Tatum was seen walking up to Brown and tapping him on the chest. Brown did not react to the warm gesture.
According to reports from ESPN’s Shams Charania, Brown and Tatum haven’t spoken since late June – just weeks before the trade went down.
‘This was right after the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade to the Miami Heat where the Celtics offered Jaylen Brown but they missed out on it,’ ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Tuesday on NBA Today.
Jayson Tatum (0) and Jaylen Brown (7) shared a tense moment before their first game as rivals
Tatum tried to greet Brown with a tap on the chest, but Brown ignored him completely
‘And this was also just days before Jaylen Brown’s eventual trade to the 76ers. My understanding is Jaylen Brown confronted and approached Jayson Tatum at a dinner to discuss their future as a duo and where Jayson Tatum stood on all of it.
‘It was described to me as a “heart-to-heart” between these two sides that multiple people witnessed in person.
‘But Jaylen Brown didn’t leave that conversation knowing where his future was at moving forward.’
The duo played together for nine seasons in Boston, winning a record-setting 18th championship in the 2023-24 season. Brown was named both NBA Finals MVP and Eastern Conference Finals MVP during that run to a title.
Last month, Tatum posted a video to his YouTube channel, saying he was ‘just as much caught off guard as the rest of the world’ when Brown was traded. But his former teammate responded with a cap emoji.
Tatum said he ‘called’ and ‘texted’ Brown the day he was traded, adding there’s no ‘beef or ill will’ between them and their dynamic ‘ain’t no f***ing Shaq and Kobe.’
‘At this point in our lives, we’re too old to be having our relationship discussed X, Y, and Z like on the internet. If there’s a conversation to be had, we can definitely have that.’
Brown responded to those comments, saying, ‘It’s no beef, but it might be little lamb chops and some gravy, you know what I mean? He should stay ready at all times… There’s no beef, it should never be that. It’s just basketball.’
This was the first game the two played since Brown was traded from Boston to Philadelphia
In the matchup in Philly, it was George who led the way for all scorers – knocking down 14-of-22 shots for 36 points as Boston won 123-101.
Tatum performed better than Brown on the night. He logged 21 points, six rebounds and four assists while his ex-teammate dropped 13 points, five rebounds and two assists.
After the game ended, George was seen making an obscene gesture at the fans of his former team.
He performed a bowling motion before raising his hand with a middle finger.
