Jaylen Brown’s first return to TD Garden as a Philadelphia 76er carried the promise of a tense reunion with his former team. Instead, his night ended before tipoff, putting his relationship with Jayson Tatum back under the spotlight. The awkwardness reportedly started during warmups.
Brown and Tatum did not exchange a word, adding to the attention around their first meeting as opponents. Brown completed an extended on-court warmup but was ruled out before the game. He watched Philadelphia’s matchup with Boston from the locker room, postponing the anticipated reunion until the regular season.
The distance has been noticeable since Boston traded Brown to Philadelphia in July for Paul George and draft picks. Brown said in August he had “not really” spoken with Tatum since the move. He stressed that he still respected Tatum, though the trade process bothered him.
He called leaving Boston an emotional process but said his focus was forward. Tatum has pushed back against assumptions about their relationship. In September, he said, “For me, I love that guy,” pointing to their nine seasons together, five conference finals and two NBA Finals.
He framed the split as basketball’s business, not something to mourn. The split followed a difficult season for Boston. Tatum missed much of it while recovering from an Achilles injury, leaving Brown as the team’s leading option.
The trade surprised fans, fueling speculation about their relationship, though neither has confirmed a personal feud. Boston then overwhelmed Philadelphia 144-106 in Saturday’s preseason game. Payton Pritchard scored 25 points and Tatum added 23 as the Celtics dominated the boards.
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