Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum scored 36 points in Friday’s 107-103 win over the New York Knicks, then used his postgame NBA news conference to defuse a feud with Philadelphia 76ers star Jaylen Brown that he says doesn’t exist.
Brown posted a cap emoji, slang for a lie, after Tatum said in a video on his YouTube channel that he was “just as much caught off guard as the rest of the world” by Brown’s July 1 trade.
“I don’t have any animosity or beef or ill will toward him,” Tatum said. “I think the frustrating part is, since he’s not on the Celtics anymore, the narrative or the conversations haven’t been enough about what we accomplished, all the games we won, winning the championship, how we’ve grown together. It’s turned into this drama type of thing.”
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What did Tatum say about Brown?
The 28-year-old forward framed the dispute around his age and his family.
“I’ve got two kids, you know what I’m saying? I reached out to him the day he got traded; I called him. I texted him; I understand people process things differently,” Tatum said. “At this point in our lives, we’re too old to be having our relationship discussed, XYZ, on the internet.”
Brown turns 30 on Saturday, and Tatum left the door open for a direct talk with his former running mate.
“There’s a conversation to be had. We can definitely have that conversation. I welcome that,” Tatum said. “I’ve seen all these things about, ‘Get your popcorn ready when they play.’ It’s not a f—ing boxing match. We play basketball.”
“Again, people process and handle things on their own time,” Tatum added. “Whenever that happens, and it will, it’ll happen.”
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Jaylen Brown trade fallout continues
Boston sent the five-time All-Star to Philadelphia for Paul George, two first-round picks and two second-round picks in a deal that moved one of the team’s two $300 million contracts off its books.
Brown wrote in a farewell statement that he was “still processing how this all went down.” He later told fans at an Aug. 30 block party on Boston Common, “I just want to say thank you to Boston.”
Tatum and Brown spent nine seasons together, reaching five Eastern Conference Finals and two NBA Finals, and winning the 2024 title, with Brown earning Finals MVP honors.
Philadelphia is 2-0, and the Atlanta native posted the emoji Thursday night after the 76ers rallied from 29 points down to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers.
When do Celtics and 76ers meet?
.@RealBobManning asked Jayson Tatum about Jaylen Brown’s 🧢 comment, and he responded at length: https://t.co/7vR7EbHi80
— Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzell) October 24, 2026
Philadelphia, which added LeBron James this offseason, eliminated Boston in the first round last spring in a series that saw Tatum miss Game 7.
The Celtics visit the 76ers on Nov. 10, and Brown’s first regular-season game back at TD Garden is set for Jan. 21.
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