As the NBA opening night is set for this coming Tuesday, the storylines around the league are abundant. One of the most compelling stories is the rumored fractured relationship between former longtime Boston Celtics teammates Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
The rumored beef and exchange of “sneak disses” between the two has reached a fever pitch following Brown’s surprising trade from the Celtics to the division rival Sixers. Ever since the trade it’s been increasingly clear that the two former teammates are not too fond of one another.
Brown’s Comments To Lil Baby Are The Latest
The most recent tension flared up in mid-October 2026. A video surfaced of Brown talking to rapper Lil Baby, where he took a clear swipe at individual accolades — widely viewed as a shot at Tatum’s regular-season stats versus Brown’s postseason success.
“I didn’t play to win no award. They gave me the MV — they gave me two MVPs [2024 Eastern Conference Finals MVP, 2024 Finals MVP], by the way. When I won, I was never expecting it, I didn’t care about that. Even after that that, I told everybody that like ‘it mattered way more to some people than it ever mattered to me,’” Brown said.
”So when I won you could see on my face that I was shocked,” he continued. “’Cause it didn’t change no reaction if anyone else would’ve won. But that don’t always be the case, when the shoe was on the other foot. So to get that award, and it’s named after Bill Russell, the Bill Russell Finals MVP, and Bill Russell is someone that lived in Boston that dealt with a lot of bullsh-t when he was here. He used to stand up for what he believed in and people treated him like sh-t.”
That comment highlights the underlying friction regarding who deserved the credit for the Celtics’ success, especially after Brown won both the ECF and Finals MVP awards over Tatum.
Tatum Gets It Started, Brown Strikes Back
The drama kicked off publicly in July 2026 during Jayson Tatum’s youth basketball camp. Tatum posted a video on Instagram stating, “Being around somebody that feels like they know it all, I don’t wanna be around that person. I don’t wanna be the smartest person in the room. I want to learn from somebody else.”
During a livestream, Brown directly addressed the narrative that he carries himself as a know-it-all. After clarifying that it was never his intention, he fired back with a subtle counter-diss.
“The bar for intelligence in professional sports is not exactly set at an elite level,” he said.
Media outlets interpreted this as Brown flipping the framing back on Tatum, implying that standing out intellectually in the NBA isn’t particularly difficult
Fans Chime In
This latest development gave more credence to the rumor that the two had a frosty relationship when they played in Boston and adds some juice to the type of NBA news that captivates the fringe fan.
“We already know they not friends how many reports we need,” a fan said.
“They weren’t BFFs, so what. Got it done and always remained professional on the court. Can’t ask for more, it’s work,” another fan said.
“Damn, winning a championship together just to end up like strangers,” a fan mentioned.
“They won a ring and went to multiple deep playoff runs. They both have always been professionals you don’t have to be best friends with every coworker,” a fan commented.
“The media wanted this for a decade and then play pretend that it’s a sob story. Keep the Js names out your mouth, you got what you wanted already,” another fan quipped.
