Jayson Tatum shuts down Jaylen Brown drama: 'This ain't f---in' Shaq and Kobe, there's no beef'

Tatum wishes people focused on what he and Brown accomplished together and thinks communication could solve a lot of issues

Oct 24, 2026 at 1:08 pm ET • 3 min read

Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics picked up their first win of the season against the New York Knicks on Friday night, with Tatum shaking off a rough opener to score 36 points in the victory. 

Even as the Celtics move forward with the 2026-27 season, the Jaylen Brown trade remains an inescapable discussion point despite the best efforts of Tatum and the organization. Tatum posted a clip from a documentary recently on Instagram discussing his reaction to the Brown trade in which he said he was shocked by the trade, particularly the fact he was sent to Philadelphia, responding, "You traded him down the street?" 

Brown commented with a cap emoji, signaling he wasn't buying Tatum's version of events, which added more fuel to the long-standing rumors of discontent between the two former co-stars. Tatum was asked about that situation after Friday night's win, and lamented the fact that the discussion of the two hasn't been about all they accomplished, but instead a perceived beef that he insists doesn't exist. 

"Celebrate it. You know how many people play in this league and never went to the Finals? We went twice and won a championship, so it should be more about that," Tatum said. "This ain't no f---in' Shaq and Kobe, there's no beef. It's not about that. It should be more praise, and I understand that don't necessarily sell. Drama gets clicks and views, but I'm not really — that's not my thing." 

Tatum would expand on that thought even more eloquently later, explaining that he understands Brown's frustration with the trade and that he might need time to process it, but feels so much of the animosity that is seemingly one-sided could be solved with a conversation between the two stars that hasn't happened yet. 

"I understand we in an entertainment business. Me personally, I'm not much of an off-the-court entertainer type of guy. And for me it's just like, I don't have any animosity or beef or ill will towards him," Tatum said. "I think the frustrating part is, since he's not with the Celtics any more the narrative or the conversations haven't been enough about what we accomplished, all the games we won, winning a championship, how we've grown together. And it's turned into this drama type of thing. I'm not like — I got two kids. 

"I reached out to him the day he got traded. I called him, I texted him. And I understand, people process things differently," Tatum continued. "At this point in our lives, we too old to be having our relationship discussed X, Y and Z, like on the internet. There's a conversation to be had. We can definitely have that conversation. I welcome that, right? I've always wanted the best for him, wish the best for him. I've always publicly said those things."

As for the first matchup between the Sixers and Celtics on Nov. 10 in Philadelphia, while the spotlight will be on a matchup of two of the top teams in the East and all the drama between them after the Brown trade, Tatum finds the way their impending head-to-head battle is being discussed to be ridiculous. 

"So, you know, I've seen all these things like get your popcorn ready when they play. It's not a f---ing boxing match," Tatum said. "I play basketball. There's no animosity. There's no beef. And I just hate the way the conversation, the narrative around it when there's not enough communication. And I think conversation would solve or put out a lot of fires. And again, people process and handle things at their own time. Whenever that happens, it'll happen." 

Tatum may want this all to end, but it's going to be quite some time before fans (and Brown) are ready to put the trade behind them. In the meantime, he'll try and move on and stay out of the drama that swirls around him as best he can.