Jaylen Brown has been labeled as an NBA player that’s hard to get along with because as one Celtics executive formerly said, “He thinks he’s the smartest guy in the room.”
RELATED: ‘Don’t Like Black Men With Intelligence, Integrity & Confidence’: Colin Cowherd Gives Wild Take, Saying Brad Stevens Traded Jaylen Brown Because His Shrewd Mind Is A ‘Disease’
Brown’s intelligence is not up for debate, but his professionalism and pettiness has come into question after he met former teammate Jayson Tatum for the first time since Brown was traded to the Sixers on Tuesday night and refused to acknowledge his former teammate prior to and after the game.
Jaylen Brown Ignores Jayson Tatum During Warm-Ups
During warmups Tatum made his rounds and tried to speak to Brown, who was twirling a ball in his finger and tried to act like he didn’t see Tatum. Tatum gave him a “what’s up” smack on the stomach, but no handshake followed. Brown acted as if Tatum was invisible.
That bravado didn’t carry into the game as Brown scored just 13 points and had a -27 +/-. Tatum had a clutch 21 points and appeared to be in great spirits throughout the entire game.
Both players have maintained that they have no beef with each other. A few weeks back, Tatum addressed rumors of a rift with former Boston Celtics teammate Jaylen Brown following Brown’s offseason trade to the Philadelphia 76ers.
“This ain’t no f—ing Shaq and Kobe. There’s no beef.”
Brown also said there was no beef, but he added that there might be some “lamb chops.” Based upon his actions on Tuesday night, those lamb chops include a side of GTFOMF. So while Tatum appeared eager to put the tense offseason drama behind them and put on a united front for the media who want nothing more than for the players to be enemies, Brown wanted everyone to know that he has forgiven, but he hasn’t forgotten.
Online Users Comment On Jaylen Brown Ignoring Jayson Tatum’s Greeting
A large contingent of Twitter users felt Brown was being performative while going out of his way to ignore Tatum. It appeared very childish and against everything that Brown represents intellectually.
“Yeah that was awkward as hell, big ups for Tatum being a good sportsman,” one user commented.
“I mean, JB stood on business. Why would JT walk up to him trynna dap him up after what happened?” said one fan defending Brown’s actions, before getting major pushback in the comments.
“Stood on business for 13pts?” a user clapped back.
“He was a child,” one critic insisted.
“You would have had something to say negatively if he had not spoken to Brown,” a fan noted.
“Because some people can act like an adult,” expressed a fan who supported Tatum’s attempt at sportsmanship.
“Brown is pushing unnecessary beef,” another netizen said in the comments.
Why Do Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum Have Beef?
Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum’s tension stems from Brown being abruptly traded from the Boston Celtics to the Philadelphia 76ers in the offseason, followed by public disputes over how the trade went down. Brown really should be mad at the Celtics but he’s been hyperfocused on Tatum’s version of the trade and even called cap on social media under Tatum’s recollection of how it went down and when he found out.
That still doesn’t seem to rise to a level where the two can’t even be cordial on the court. Brown seems to be a principle guy, and we know he wants to be thought of as socially conscious and about unity and uplifting the community. So prolonging a beef with a former teammate and lending fuel to the media fire seems a bit shady and dishonorable.
If Tatum did something so bad that Brown never wants to speak to him again, then Brown should come clean about it, because right now he still appears to be sour about the trade. That the Celtics chose Tatum coming off a knee injury over him, a Finals MVP. His ego seems bruised and he’s looking for someone to blame. While Tatum remains at the top of the pecking order in Boston, Brown must re-establish an identity playing alongside former MVPs in Joel Embiid, LeBron James and a rising star in Tyrese Maxey. He’s still hurt, and it’s affecting his behavior.
