Whether it was at Media Day or on the red carpet for the ESPYS, Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum has already been asked countless times about the Green Team's decision to trade star Jaylen Brown this offseason. He's provided composed messages of gratitude and understanding in response, but his answers haven't been very long.
That changed on Thursday night, when Tatum dropped the third episode of his "Summer of Jayson" video series on YouTube. The six-time All-Star set the stage for the moment he first learned of Brown's trade to the rival Philadelphia 76ers, which sent shockwaves through the NBA and New England in particular.
"We were in Vegas, I just got done playing pickup," he recalled. "(Celtics player development coach God Shammgod Jr.) walks over. He hand me a towel. He's like, 'Yo, put this over your face. Don't react. They just traded him.' I'm like, 'Oh (expletive)! Where?' He said, 'Philly.'"
Like many Celtics fans, Tatum couldn't believe Boston sent Brown — his on-court partner in crime of nine years — to Philadelphia of all places.
"You traded him down the street?" he said incredulously. "I was just as caught off guard as the rest of the world."
Before the summer trade, there were multiple instances of Brown almost getting moved to another team during prior offseasons. A fair amount of basketball pundits, media members, and fans suggested separating Tatum and Brown over the course of their time in Boston. There was a theory that the two perennial All-Stars could never win a championship together. Their styles of play were too similar. Their personalities were too different.
They proved those naysayers wrong. The Celtics won it all in 2024 thanks to Tatum, who led the team in points, rebounds, and assists during the NBA Finals, and Brown, who took home Finals MVP.
"I've been very transparent about how thankful I personally am for our relationship and what we were able to accomplish," Tatum stated. "Jayson and Jaylen, you won't ever be able to talk about one of us without the other. And just our ability to grow up as kids and go through our ups and downs, and people talking about one of us had to go and we couldn't win together, and — there's a lot of (expletive) that we had to deal with."
Jayson Tatum on his lengthy on-court partnership with Jaylen Brown and what they’ve accomplished:
— Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) April 17, 2026
“It’s great…Nobody can do it by themselves. It takes a village.
Also talked about being drafted by Boston:
“So I’m thankful, tenfold.” pic.twitter.com/RXA5oHxyUL
Since Brown's departure in July, the Celtics are 0-1 following a season-opening loss to the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the Sixers are 1-0 after beating the reigning champion New York Knicks that same night.
The two stars are now focused on helping their respective teams and, according to Brown in early August, haven't spoken to each other much. When the Celtics and 76ers first meet during the regular season on Tuesday, Nov. 10, in Philly, there will be plenty of questions about their relationship and how the trade went down. Those same naysayers might even continue to sow discord between the pair of champions.
But, in Tatum's mind, no narrative will change what he accomplished alongside Brown.
"I knew every time I stepped on that court that when it was time to go to war...and No. 7 was over there, I knew that he was going to do whatever it took for us to try to win," Tatum said. "The way we pushed each other, I definitely made him better. He made me better, and we made our team better. We made this organization better. We won a championship. We are forever etched in stone in NBA history. We held up that trophy. It won't ever be forgotten."
Listen to "Havlicek Stole the Pod" on:
Blue Wire: https://tiny.ee/CdKp
iTunes: https://tiny.ee/RK47
YouTube: https://tiny.ee/cOW3
This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Jayson Tatum explains how his legacy is tied to Jaylen Brown