Jaylen Brown’s Finals MVP ‘Crushed’ Stat-Padding Jayson Tatum, Claims 2x All-Star

Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum have gone back-and-forth publicly trying to give opinions on their apparent 'beef.'

Jaylen Brown’s Finals MVP ‘Crushed’ Stat-Padding Jayson Tatum, Claims 2x All-Star

Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum (Image via Adonai/Per Sources/X)

The most talked-about discourse currently in the NBA is the alleged ‘beef’ between former teammates Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, which eventually led to the former being traded to the Philadelphia 76ers.

Before the trade happened, most of the narratives were about the Boston Celtics supposedly being unhappy with Brown’s ‘intelligence’ and what he says on public platforms.

Even though Brown and other players slammed those attempts to undermine his character, the notion was that something was in play to ensure the Celtics look justified in trading him away.

However, since then, new assumptions have been floating around that Tatum eventually had the franchise trade away his teammate so that he could remain as the primary superstar.

Last season, the California Golden Bear alum proved that he could lead a franchise on his own. That was possibly the final straw, as former point guard Baron Davis believes that Tatum was already ‘hurt’ watching Brown succeed over the years.

I saw it in the Finals when Brown was gonna get it, and Tatum kept firing at the end of the last game. Everybody who’s played this game, and they mama, knows the series was wrapped up. They knew Jayson Tatum was trying to get that Finals MVP, man. That went to Brown. That hurt that kid, man. That crushed him.

Baron Davis said

He reiterated while on Gil’s Arena that the seeds of this divorce were sown when Brown went on to lift the Finals MVP trophy. Along with last season, it became clear that the guard was taking Tatum’s shine. Therefore, this was bound to happen, since the latter is supposed to be the Celtics’ franchise cornerstone.

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Another former All-Star points out triggering points that caused Jaylen Brown-Jayson Tatum split

The cast of Gil’s Arena mentioned during that discussion that the team was Jayson Tatum’s before Jaylen Brown arrived. Therefore, that does something to the team’s hierarchy.

Jayson Tatum's return last season hampered Jaylen Brown
Tatum’s return last season hampered Brown (Image via Bleacher Report/X)

The first game when Tatum came back, Brown was getting called out last every game of the season. Now Tatum back, he goes back to his second-to-last.

John Wall said on In Motion

The five-time All-Star added that when the 2024 Finals MVP winner was dominating the court last season, he was rightfully supposed to be the last player whose name should be announced.

But Tatum being the franchise cornerstone changed that the moment he returned. John Wall might have a point, as others have pointed out how the Duke alum’s return last season impeded Brown’s standing in the MVP race. Therefore, it is possible that all those points led to their eventual split.

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ESPN analyst blames Celtics for Jaylen Brown-Jayson Tatum ‘beef’

While most are dissecting how it went wrong between Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, one analyst pointed the finger at the Boston Celtics for allowing this entire discourse to fester.

They favored Jayson. Jayson didn’t ask them to favor him. Jayson didn’t stop it, but they favored Jayson. And I know Jaylen felt some type of way about that.

Marc J. Spears said on NBA Today

He reiterated that had the Boston Celtics done their part, none of this would have happened. Instead, they allowed differences to grow and then, eventually, traded Brown away to a conference rival, even though they could have tried to make it work between the two.

Tatum has tried to dismiss rumors that there is a beef between him and his former partner in crime. However, Brown has also responded, suggesting that even though there is no real ‘beef,’ there was enough going on between them that makes this split necessary.

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