Jaylen Brown Praises 'Unselfish' Jayson Tatum, Says They're 'On The Same Page'

While some want to speculate on how things will work between Tatum and Brown now that Tatum is back, Brown says it's not an issue.

May 5, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) and forward Jayson Tatum (0) warm up before the start of game one of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs against the New York Knicks at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images | David Butler II-Imagn Images

BOSTON — Jayson Tatum’s debut was a long time coming. After 10 months of tireless rehab, Tatum made it back onto the floor, but his return didn’t come without some questions. 

One of the biggest was how he’d fit with the current team. While practical reasoning suggests a player as good as Tatum will be able to quickly assimilate anywhere, and that playing with a bunch of guys he's won a championship with already will speed up the process, there's also no doubt that Tatum does have some adjusting ahead of him. 

Much has been made about stepping into a team that has been led quite well by Jaylen Brown. Talking heads have speculated about how that would go, drumming up old Brown v. Tatum tropes as if they were Supreme Court precedent. 

But Brown isn’t worried. Appearing on the AMP Sports Original Series “Cousins with Vince Carter & Tracy McGrady,” Brown made it clear that he and Tatum are on the same page. 

“First, I want to commend JT for even having the notion that he wants to come back,” Brown said. “Him wanting to return is an unselfish act — putting his body on the line in order for us to accomplish something great. We’re both on the same page and had a good talk about the mindset we want to come back with and what we want to add to winning.”

Tatum has obviously moved past it, but he has, in the past, expressed hesitance about returning.

“They have an identity this year … and it's been successful,” he said in a podcast appearance. “So there's a thought in my head … how does that look with me integrating myself off an injury and 50-60 games into a season? Obviously could be some challenges. And it is a thought like, damn, do I come back, or should I wait?’

Whatever challenges there are, the Celtics are very well constructed to handle it. This doesn't qualify as adversity, but whenever a challenge has arisen for the team, they’ve risen to meet it. 

“I'm excited about the challenge and the opportunity that we have,” Joe Mazzulla said before the game against Dallas. “I think at the end of the day, our team is whole now …, we have a group of guys that have done a great job up until this point, and now we make an addition, and now we have a chance to be even better. And how do we do that as a team? And so anytime you have opportunities to be able to do that, I think it’s fun. And that's what I'm looking forward to.”

Tatum is in both familiar and uncharted territory for Tatum. He is returning to his sanctuary on the floor, getting back to the game that he loves. This is what he was born to do, but he’s also joining a work in progress. He has to balance getting back to being himself with jumping into things midstream.

“This is a different group than what we’ve played with before,” Brown said. “We’re used to playing with more experienced players over the last few years, but this is a younger group, so it’s a different dynamic. They’re going to feed off the energy that we create. We have a great understanding of what it means to win. We’ve won for a long time and know how to find success, so I think we’re on the same page."

The full episode with Brown will be released next Tuesday.