There’s a rather perplexing phenomenon when it comes to the way Celtics fans perceive Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
Of course there are exceptions, but the majority of people I talk ball with believe the following are all true:
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1) Jaylen Brown is an excellent basketball player, but Jayson Tatum is an even better all-around basketball player.
2) Jaylen Brown had a terrific season last year and took his game to the next level as the clear-cut No. 1 option.
3) Jayson Tatum looked sharp in his return and is poised to have a monster season as the clear-cut No. 1 option.
4) While Paul George has his limitations, a healthy Jayson Tatum and a healthy Paul George pairing is more dangerous than just Jaylen Brown by himself.
5) The Celtics will be worse this year than they were last year.
Now wait a minute. If Tatum is better than Brown, and you add George to the mix, wouldn’t that make this year’s Celtics better than last year’s? Forget the playoffs, when things got wonky against a hot 76ers team. If the rest of the team is very similar, and they also added Mitchell Robinson, wouldn’t this regular-season version theoretically be better than last year’s?
You would think so, but most people don’t view it that way. That’s where it gets interesting. Jaylen Brown is like the ex-girlfriend you complain about when you’re dating but miss when she’s gone. Celtics fans have always waffled on Brown from the start, and it took him leaving to realize just how truly valuable he was on and off the court.
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Even with the Finals MVP, even with the monster year and even with the parade of goodbyes, he’s still not as beloved as his fellow Jay. Why is that? Part of it stems from the fact that Tatum is more reserved and doesn’t say anything controversial. Brown speaks his mind, for better or worse, and gains some additional fans and additional critics in the process.
Brown is a polished, versatile and dynamic scorer and determined defender, but his playmaking skills and ability to shape the entire game aren’t quite as robust as Tatum’s. But wait a minute again. They won 56 games last year, and when Tatum came back, they lost in the playoffs.
That’s true. That is what happened. But part of it was because Brown no longer felt like “the guy.” Brown was still the No. 1 scorer on the team, but having Tatum back in the mix took away some of the bravado that made him sparkle in the regular season.
Once Brown got a taste of the limelight, he didn’t want to surrender it. He’s always wanted to be the alpha, and the irony now is that he’s one of four proven, ball-dominant playmakers on a star-studded roster.
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Tatum, meanwhile, will have the opportunity to prove that he, too, can orchestrate a dominant regular season as the clear-cut, undisputed, No. 1 option. He’ll have plenty of help, with George, Derrick White, Payton Pritchard and more, but for the first time in his career, it’s undeniably his team.
He’s a genuinely unselfish person, and I’m sure he was authentically rooting for the Celtics last year from the sideline. At the same time, there’s no doubt in my mind he yearned for a chance to operate in Brown’s position. That’s just human nature. Now, he has the opportunity.
It will be fascinating to watch how Tatum’s season in this role compares to Brown’s. Does he become even more aggressive as a scorer, or does he read those double teams better than Brown and post a career-high in assists? Does he flirt with triple-doubles some nights, take over in the clutch even more and surpass 2025-26 Brown’s sixth-place finish in the Most Valuable Player race?
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Comparing them and pitting them against each other as teammates was silly, and the reality is that it yielded way more friction and tension than was ever necessary. Calling it a toxic work environment would be a stretch, but the reason it never quite felt like a warm and fuzzy relationship is because it wasn’t.
Now, it becomes a fascinating exercise. Is Tatum truly as equipped for that role as we all think he is? Will they miss Brown’s ability to get you a bucket when you really need one? Will Tatum’s game evolve to mirror Brown’s? Will Brown’s game with the 76ers evolve to mirror Tatum’s?
The questions extend from there. Will Derrick White’s shooting percentages increase with Tatum by his side to get him the rock? Will Neemias Queta become even more lethal in the pick and roll with Tatum there to initiate? Will Baylor Scheierman, Hugo González and Sam Hauser space the floor even better with Tatum playing the role of puppeteer?
Brown is an outstanding player, but Tatum has a chance to leave his imprint in his own way. Something tells me he won’t squander it.
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The regular-season matchups will be entertaining and probably carry more spice than they need to. But if they do end up meeting in the playoffs, trading buckets in a captivating rematch, that could be some seriously gripping television.
Nothing will replicate the good old days. No season will feel quite like 2024. But this season, like last year, will add an intriguing new subplot. We’ve unsuccessfully tried to resist comparing them for so long. Now, we can finally, earnestly, do so.
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