Joe Mazzulla Eloquently Eviscerates Contrived Narrative about Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown's Relationship

Bobby Krivitsky | May 31, 2024

May 13, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) and guard Jaylen Brown (7) celebrate after a win over the Cleveland Cavaliers in game four of the second round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports / David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

The narrative that Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown don't like each other and don't enjoy sharing the floor has existed for much of their careers. It has reached a crescendo during a playoff run that has lacked challengers who genuinely seemed capable of stopping the Celtics from reaching the NBA Finals.

While talking heads fishing for engagement stir up contrived narratives, the star tandem has never shied from discussing their relationship.

"He'll probably say I'm a little outside of the box, and he's probably a little bit more cut and simple; he just keep it simple, and in a weird way, it works because we lack what each other has," said Brown when he appeared on All The Smoke with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson.

"In a weird way, we've got an understanding of each other, a respect for each other, our families is close. My brother babysit his son. We different. We got different mindsets. But at the same time, I think we respect each other."

Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

After Boston eliminated the Cavaliers, punching its ticket to the Eastern Conference Finals, Tatum expressed about the on-court dynamic between the two: "We've been in a lot of crucial moments, regular season and playoff games, and just throughout the years, learning from our experiences."

The five-time All-Star continued, "(We're) really getting to a stage where we understand what we can do individually. We know how gifted we are offensively, but you know, each night just kind of presents different challenges, being ready and up for the task to do whatever is needed because both of us are capable on the basketball court to do literally everything. Each night may call for something different."

But when you've gone to the Eastern Conference Finals in five of your first seven years together, came within two wins of an NBA title before reaching your primes, and maintain low profiles off the court, segments of the media, especially talking heads, will exchange credibility and journalistic integrity for storylines they find juicier than what reality has produced.

The transparency of this uncompelling gimmick is not lost on Tatum and Brown.

"I've seen him grow as a man," voiced the latter in an interview with Shams Charania for Stadium. "He's seen me grow as a man. I get why, I guess, in a sense, people always try to break up duos or people like that because so far, we've been incredibly successful, and hopefully, we can be even more; (the) only thing that would put the ribbon on top is getting a championship."

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Now, they're back in the Finals, four wins from adding the Larry O'Brien Trophy to a remarkably successful partnership. Despite these two just now sharing the parquet in their primes, the 27-year-old Brown has reached the NBA's final four six times in eight years. Only Magic Johnson has played on that stage more before turning 28.

Only Johnson, who reached the conference finals six times before he was 27, reached the doorstep of the NBA Finals more frequently than Tatum before reaching that age.

On the heels of the Celtics' first official practice leading up to their latest opportunity to add an NBA title to their legacies, Joe Mazzulla eloquently eviscerated the contrived narratives about their relationship.

"That's a really good question," started Boston's bench boss. "I'm kind of praying about how deep I want to get into that because the whole thing about that really pisses me off. I think it's unfair to both of them. I think it's stupid that people have to use those two guys' names and (to) use information that they don't know to create clickbait so that they can stay relevant.

"And it's very unfair that those two get compared; two completely different people, they're two completely different players, they're great teammates, they love each other, and they go about winning, and they go about their process in different ways. Why (must) they have to be always lumped together -- I think (that it) is unfair, and people just use it for their own relativity. And at the end of the day, those two guys, their relationship is their relationship. They love each other (and) they push each other every single day at practice, (and) they communicate with each other, but they both go about winning differently.

"And I think they both get an unfair -- being compared to each other. They're different. And you see other duos around the league don't have to go through that. And it's because of the platform that they have; it's because they've been so successful their entire careers. They've been able to long-stand success at a high, high level and so people need them in order to stay relevant. And they should not talk on speculation; they should get to know them as people before they talk about that stuff. They're two of the greatest teammates and players that you can have, and it's been an honor to coach both of them. It doesn't mean they have to be the same, so it's [expletive]. I love both of them, and they deserve better."

Further Reading

Celtics-Mavericks NBA Finals Has Kyrie Irving Between Boston and Banner 18

Report: Celtics Center Kristaps Porzingis 'On Track' for NBA Finals Return

Al Horford Returns to NBA Finals Aiming to Add to a Legacy Already Cemented

Jaylen Brown's Evolution Propels Him to Eastern Conference Finals MVP

Crunch-Time Resolve Sends Celtics Back to NBA Finals