Celtics' Brad Stevens Gave Blunt Quote on Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown Criticism

The former head coach didn't hold back after the Celtics won the NBA title.

Oct 2, 2023; Boston, Celtics, USA; Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens talks during Boston Celtics Media Day. / David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

The Boston Celtics are NBA champions and Brad Stevens, head coach turned president of basketball operations, is as much to thank as anybody.

Stevens coached the Celtics from 2013-2021, overseeing the development of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown in their early years before moving to the front office. Once there, Stevens reconfigured the roster around the franchise's talented wings and hired Ime Udoka, leading to an NBA Finals appearance.

After Udoka was replaced by Joe Mazzulla and Boston fell to the eight-seed Miami Heat in the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals, Stevens blew up the roster yet again. He traded away Marcus Smart, Robert Williams, and Malcolm Brogdon to bring in Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday. Those transactions ended up his master stroke as the new and improved Celtics clicked right off the bat. He was named Executive of the Year for his efforts.

After Boston finished the job last night by beating the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 at TD Garden, Stevens decided to get some things off his chest about how his team is perceived. Specifically, as champagne splashed around him in the locker room, he told Rachel Nichols he felt the criticism of Tatum and Brown is "stupid."

Blunt. Straightforward. Can't help but respect it.

A normally-reserved Brad Stevens lets loose on Open Run: "The criticism is stupid. [Tatum & Brown] achieved more than most 25, 26-year-olds ever had. The scrutiny was because they were playing in May & June...I'd rather be in the mix and have my guts ripped out, than suck. And… pic.twitter.com/mnBz19fGZW

— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) June 18, 2024

"I think the criticism's stupid," Stevens said to Nichols. "So I don't care. I'm with Jaylen (Brown) on that. You know, those two had achieved more than most 25 and 26 year olds ever had. And the only reason they received scrunity was because they were playing in late May and June. As a good friend of mine once said, I'd rather be in the mix and have my guts ripped out than suck."

Whether the criticism is indeed "stupid" is a matter of opinion, but Stevens is right on the money when it comes to how much the Celtics' duo has accomplished at such a young age. Tatum and Brown won a title younger than LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Michael Jordan and Shaq. It is undeniably impressive to reach the mountaintop so soon into their careers, even after taking into account the necessary context.

The criticism will not fade, of course. It will merely change. Stevens will probably think it's stupid then, too.