Jayson Tatum addresses Jaylen Brown’s ‘cap’ comment: ‘It’s turned into this drama type of thing’
After Brown seemingly called Tatum a liar in an Instagram comment, Tatum responded after the Celtics' 107-103 win over the New York Knicks on Friday.
Jayson Tatum wants the conversation surrounding his relationship with former Boston Celtics teammate Jaylen Brown to be about their championship success, not social media drama.
After Brown seemingly called Tatum a liar with a baseball cap emoji on an Instagram post, Tatum addressed the comment in length Friday night after Boston’s 107-103 win over the New York Knicks.
“I understand we are in the entertainment business. Me, personally, I’m not much of an off-the-court entertainer type of guy,” Tatum said. “For me, I don’t have any animosity or beef or ill will toward him.”
The exchange started Thursday after Tatum released a new episode of his YouTube documentary series, Summer of Jayson, which shows him learning that the Celtics traded Brown to the Sixers this summer.
“You traded him down the street?” Tatum said he asked when learning of Brown’s new team, adding that he was “just as much caught off guard as the rest of the world.”
Brown responded to a clip of Tatum’s comments on Bleacher Report’s Instagram with a blue baseball cap emoji, which is used to suggest someone is lying.
The comment sparked speculation on social media about a falling-out between the former teammates, who spent nine seasons together in Boston and won the 2024 NBA championship. Tatum said in his news conference Friday night that he does not want this to overshadow all they accomplished together.
“The frustrating part is since he is not with the Celtics anymore, the narrative or the conversations haven’t been enough about what we accomplished,” Tatum said. “All the games we won, winning the championship, how we’ve grown together. It’s turned into this drama type of thing.”
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Tatum said he called and texted Brown the day of the trade, acknowledging that people process difficult situations differently.
“At this point in our lives, we are too old to be having our relationship discussed X, Y and Z on the internet,” Tatum said. “If there’s a conversation to be had, we can definitely have that conversation. I welcome that. I’ve always wanted the best for him and wish the best for him. I’ve always publicly said those things.”
The Sixers take on the Celtics on Nov. 10 at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Tatum ended his comments by pushing back against the conversation about the matchup.
“I’ve seen all these things about ‘Get your popcorn ready when they play,’” Tatum said. “It’s not a f— boxing match. Play basketball.”
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Watch the full interview below and subscribe to the Sixers Extra podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
