Philadelphia 76ers forward Jaylen Brown offered no greeting to his former teammate Jayson Tatum as the Boston Celtics defeated the 76ers 123-101 on Tuesday night. The encounter highlighted simmering tension between the two stars that reportedly began during a dinner in France last June.
According to ESPN insider Shams Charania, Brown approached Tatum at the dinner to discuss their future together in Boston. This meeting was reportedly the last time the two spoke face-to-face. Following that conversation, Boston traded Brown to Philadelphia. While Tatum attempted to reach out via calls and texts, Brown did not respond.
Prior to Tuesday's game, as players met near midcourt, Tatum walked over and tapped Brown on the chest to initiate contact. Brown, however, looked straight ahead and did not acknowledge Tatum, continuing to walk past him. When asked before the game if he planned to clear the air, Brown stated, "There's nothing to talk about." Brown scored 13 points in the game, while Tatum recorded 21 points on 8-of-17 shooting.
After the final buzzer, Brown embraced several of his former Celtics teammates but left the court without acknowledging Tatum. This marked the first on-court confrontation between the two since Brown's trade.
Brown and Tatum were drafted by the Celtics in consecutive years and together reached five conference finals, two NBA Finals, and won the 2024 NBA championship. Tatum has since earned First Team All-NBA honors, while Brown was named the 2024 Eastern Conference Finals MVP and Finals MVP.