Celtics Owner Calls Tatum, Brown ‘Best Two People’ to Build Around

Boston has both players under long-term contracts.

This offseason, the Celtics made a crucial decision for their future, signing Jaylen Brown to a five-year, $304 million supermax extension for the richest deal in NBA history. Boston has fully committed to Brown and Jayson Tatum, who has three years left on his five-year max contract, but is eligible for a five-year supermax deal similar to Brown’s starting next Summer.

While some fans questioned whether the team was right in extending Brown, Boston’s ownership seemed to have no doubt that it was the right move. Celtics co-owner Wyc Grousbeck told The Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach that Tatum and Brown are the perfect duo to lead the team.

“They’re the best two people I could imagine building a team around,” Grousbeck said. “We’ve had them since the beginning. We’ve been very lucky to have them here for their whole careers, and we’re building the team around them. But you add the next eight guys to the list. You take our top 10 and we’ve got a really good team. The focus is naturally on those two because they’re All-NBA players and All-Stars, but I like the whole roster.”

The Celtics drafted Tatum and Brown each with the No. 3 pick in back-to-back years, and have been one of the best teams in the NBA since. After drafting Brown in 2016, Boston has made the Eastern Conference finals five times and the NBA Finals once, all while never having a losing season.

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Last season, Tatum averaged 30.1 points 8.8 rebounds per game, while Brown produced 26.6 points and 6.9 rebounds a game. Boston won 57 games last year, more than all but one NBA team.