Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum led the Boston Celtics to multiple Eastern Conference Finals appearances and helped deliver one NBA title. That run ended when Boston traded one half of the partnership to the Philadelphia 76ers, and reports later made clear that Brown and Jayson Tatum’s personal relationship was not the main reason the Celtics moved the 2024 NBA Finals MVP, even though the two were never especially close off the court.

“Did Shaq and Kobe hang out, get along? No.” Celtics legend Paul Pierce, on the No Fouls Given podcast, defended the duo. “Championships. They did. Did Mike and Scott? That’s what I say. I’m about to say that. I was my next one. Mike and Scotty. Yeah.

Man, people live different lifestyles. What you got to understand, everybody, just because they look like they got the best relationship and the chemistry on the court, don’t mean that’s what it’s going to equal off the court. You know what I’m saying? Some people got families. Some people are into different things on their free time. It’s like, all right, that’s cool. And that’s OK if they didn’t hang out or communicate.”

In Boston, many fans believe that the Celtics committed to Jayson Tatum as the franchise face after trading Jaylen Brown. Similarly, in 2004, the LA Lakers chose Kobe Bryant over Shaquille O’Neal, trading Shaq to the Miami Heat.

“Did we hear about any like scuffles? Like, did we hear? … because usually it shows on the court that, oh, they don’t like each other. .. You know, I take that with a grain of salt. It’s just that now that Jaylen exited the way he did, we’re trying to dissect the negative parts on maybe why this trade happened,” Pierce added.

For years, Brown and Tatum formed one of the NBA’s best duos. Insiders have said they kept their personal lives separate, and that dynamic drew more attention during the 2025-26 season, when Tatum missed most of the year while recovering from his Achilles injury. With Tatum sidelined, Brown became Boston’s unquestioned No. 1 option and delivered the best season of his career, setting career highs and finishing sixth in MVP voting, with Brown calling it his “favorite season.”

Insider Opens Up on Brown-Tatum Relationship

ESPN insider Shams Charania on Stephen A’s Straight Shooter show opened up on the relationship between JB and JT.

“On the court, they were great. But over the last year or so, that personal relationship, it was as close to nonexistent as you could have.”

Charania earlier stated that “it was very clear that Jaylen Brown felt a level of disrespect, being thrown out there in trade talks.” He said that Brown believed that if Boston was going to continue exploring trades involving him, it was probably time for both sides to move on.