Jaylen Brown Says Danny Ainge Asked His Opinion on Jayson Tatum Before They Teamed Up

Madison Williams | Jun 13, 2024

Jun 12, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) and guard Jaylen Brown (7) celebrate after defeating the Dallas Mavericks in game three of the 2024 NBA Finals at American Airlines Center. / Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports

Boston Celtics teammates Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are considered one of the best duos in the NBA right now, and fans can thank Brown for making this teammate pairing a reality.

As the teammates are in their seventh season together, they've gotten to know each other extremely well on and off the court. In fact, Brown and Tatum even knew each other before they got to the league as they were roommates at different camps growing up.

Since Brown knew Tatum before he was a rookie, former Celtics executive Danny Ainge decided to ask Brown for his opinion of Tatum while they were considering who to draft in the first round of the 2017 NBA draft. Brown's high praise for the prospect played a big part in the Celtics selecting Tatum. The rest is history.

"I had a lot of experience with him, and I played with him on the same team so there was a lot of respect," Brown said on Thursday. "I said, 'I think it's a great choice.' Fast forward from there, we've been winning ever since."

Jaylen Brown recalls when Danny Ainge asked him how he felt about a prospect... the prospect was Jayson Tatum 👀 pic.twitter.com/GtrxG6AusE

— NBA (@NBA) June 13, 2024

The Celtics will be looking to win their 18th championship in franchise history on Friday night over the Dallas Mavericks as they currently hold a 3–0 series lead in the NBA Finals.