Jayson Tatum celebrated the launch of his fifth signature shoe at Nike Boston last week. His 10th NBA season with the Boston Celtics began Tuesday in Detroit.
When asked at the Jordan Tatum 5 event what his motivation is after winning the 2024 NBA Finals title, injuring his Achilles during the 2025 playoffs, and returning as a force late in 2026, the St. Louis native was ready with an answer.
“The Celtics’ championship parade was the best day of my life, and I can’t wait to do it again,” he said.
Of course, that parade included then-teammate Jaylen Brown, who was named NBA Finals MVP although Tatum was certainly deserving.
Brown was stellar during the 2025-26 season while Tatum was sidelined and helped carry the Celtics to the playoffs. The season ended in a first-round Game 7 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Tatum, who averaged 21.6 points, 10 rebounds and 5.3 assists in 16 regular season games after his return, missed that season-ending playoff loss with knee stiffness. He could only watch as the Celtics blew a 3-1 series lead.
Shortly after the season ended, Brown (maybe) threw a bit of shade in Tatum’s direction, saying “this was the best year of my career,” and “the most fun I’ve had.”
Tatum said during the summer at his basketball camp saying, “Being a leader doesn’t mean you know it all. … Being around somebody who feels like they know it all, I don’t want to be around that person.”
Tatum got his wish. Brown was traded to the 76ers for Paul George. LeBron James later signed with Philadelphia as a free agent, and they are teammates with Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. Philly has better odds of winning the NBA title than Boston.
As if the relationship isn’t frosty enough, Brown was recently shown on social media chatting with rapper Lil Baby.
“I didn’t play to win no award. They gave me two MVPs [2024 Eastern Conference Finals MVP, 2024 Finals MVP], by the way. When I won, I was never expecting it, I didn’t care about that,” Brown said.
“I told everybody that like ‘it mattered way more to some people than it ever mattered to me.”
That “some people” reference certainly could be Tatum.
The teams played during the preseason and Tatum and Brown didn’t speak. They meet for the first time as opponents on Nov. 10 in Philadelphia.
That will be must-see TV.
The Reid Roundup
Patrick Mahomes recorded his 100th win in 131 starts when the Kansas City Chiefs topped the L.A. Chargers 22-6 last Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium. He tied Tom Brady as the quickest QB to reach the 100-win plateau…The health situation for Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts took a turn for the worse. Blood clots were discovered in his lungs in addition to a clot in his leg, and he will miss the remainder of the season as he undergoes treatment with blood thinners. He is expected to make a full recovery…The Cleveland Browns are 4-2 and tied for first in the AFC North. Yet, there is talk QB Deshaun Watson will be benched in favor of Shedeur Sanders…While he didn’t break into my Top 10 Black MLB players list, Tampa Bay outfielder Chandler Simpson will likely be on my 2027 preseason ranking. Simpson said “it means a lot” to be a Black baseball player on the national postseason stage and he hopes to inspire more African Americans to play the game…Speaking of baseball, a belated thank you to manager Will Venable and the Chicago White Sox. While the season ended by dropping three straight to the Cleveland Guardians in an American League Division Series, us ChiSox fans will ever forget the wild ride back to respectability and the playoffs…Antron Brown returned to the racetrack where he earned his first Texas NHRA FallNationals victory to win the Top Fuel final at the Texas NHRA Fall Nationals at the Texas Motorplex. The four-time world champion recorded his second victory of the 2026 season and 83rd career win. As he shared with The St. Louis American, Brown’s first national event win came at that track in 1999 in Pro Stock Motorcycle.