In addition to offering a record 18th title to the franchise, and a home visit for legend Bob Cousy, the trophy won by the Celtics rewards the efforts and patience of the duo. Jayson Tatum – Jaylen Brown.
Despite the good performances in the playoffs, without a title certainly, over the years, doubts were numerous. Were they complementary and capable of carrying Boston, or even of fading away if one shone more than the other?
The Massachusetts franchise has not always believed 100% in this duo since a transfer of Jaylen Brown seemed possible. Especially in 2022, when Kevin Durant wanted to leave Brooklyn. The Celtics had then proposed the best offer to the Nets, in which was the MVP of the 2024 Finals.
“I always told him that maybe I should have done better to give my opinion publicly. He knows that I always wanted him to be here,” Jayson Tatum says. “I always told him I had nothing to do with trade discussions. I never went to Brad Stevens or any player and said I wanted this guy or I wanted that guy gone. I do my job and I play basketball. When I look back, I didn’t realize it would affect people because I didn’t experience that situation. I probably could have done a better job publicly saying I didn’t want anybody other than Jaylen Brown. But I stayed away from that.”
“We learned to coexist”
Two years later, Jayson Tatum is happy to see his teammate in the spotlight. For years, he was the one who accumulated the honors, sometimes to the detriment of his teammate.
“I know he was happy for me,” he remembers in particular, when he was an All-Star in 2020 ahead of Jaylen Brown. “I'm really happy for him now. He missed out on some honors, whether it was the All-Star Game or the All-NBA teams. I feel like he's basically made up for some of the flaws that people didn't vote for him for. I'm happy he won that award.”
All of that seems to be ancient history. Both Boston stars have long-term contracts and the title against the Mavericks confirms that they can shine and win together.
“We understood that we needed each other. We learned to coexist. We know that we need to be at our best for things to work.”concludes Jayson Tatum.
