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Celtics star Jaylen Brown refutes rumors he and Jayson Tatum might not get along

justin quinn
·4 min read
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For some reason, there has been a narrative around the NBA media sphere that All-Star Boston Celtics forwards Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are not friends that has lingered despite significant evidence to the contrary.

And, apart from the argument that such a status is even necessary or important to team success, the Georgia native spoke with the media about the shared relationship the two have forged over years of playing with one another after training camp practice on Tuesday after being asked about images showing the duo celebrating Tatum’s Olympic gold over the summer at a Las Vegas club.

“I think it’s grown a lot,” suggested Brown.

“I think it is centered around respect,” he continued. “I think there’s a respect there.”

“Jayson respects my work ethic and I respect his. We both put a lot into this game regardless of what I do off the court or what people think I do off the court. I put everything — my heart and soul — into this game. So, I think our relationship is built off of respect.”

“I respect Jayson and he is one of the best players in this game, regardless of (being age) 25 — under or over,” opined Brown.

“I think he can be one of the best players when it is all said and done,” he added, optimistically.

Not batting an eye, Brown continued in the same vein. “I think the same about myself, so respect is what I think the relationship is centered around.”

The Cal-Berkeley product opened up on what he thought might be driving the narrative as well.

“I think the media likes to dichotomize things and put one thing against the other,” he explained. “There has to be a Batman and a Robin.”

“We’re just two guys who can hoop. The reality is that two guys who can hoop can co-exist. The media wants to write the story that pulls us apart, but we talk a lot. We won’t let it bother us. We hear a lot of things — the comparisons, et cetera — but at the end of the day, I want the best for him, and he wants the best for me. Regardless of what everyone is saying, I enjoy playing with Jayson, I really do.”

“He’s a guy I trust out there to make plays, (and) I know that he trusts me out there as well,” added Brown.

Exhibiting an awareness of what can often be the case around the league, Brown observed, “Sometimes (that trust) is not easy to find.”

“We started our careers together, we won a lot of games together here in Boston at an early age, which is rare and sometimes fascinating to me to see such an urgency to pitch us against each other at times. I could care less about what you read and see.”

“It doesn’t bother me none,” explained the Celtics star forward.

It is indeed a bizarre but real trend in that both fans and analysts seem to be looking for a controversy where there has been little in the way of any evidence one exists among a team they follow and in the former case support.

But short of the media itself speaking such an ire between Boston’s stars into existence, it seems Brown has done as much as could be reasonably expected to dispel the whispers of a rift of any sort between himself and Tatum.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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