Jayson Tatum aims sly dig at Jaylen Brown during motivational speech at youth training camp

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Jayson Tatum’s motivational speech to a group of youth basketball players took an odd turn with perceived digs towards former teammate Jaylen Brown.

Tatum and Brown formed two halves of an incredibly successful duo with the Boston Celtics. They won the 2024 NBA Championship together, with Brown securing both Conference and Finals MVP awards over Tatum.

The perceived tension between the two over the years over the real No. 1 option for the team seem to be settled with Brown getting traded to the 76ers, but Tatum’s made a comment confirming the tensions.

Is Jayson Tatum’s ‘I don’t wanna be around that person’ comment linked to Jaylen Brown?

While giving a motivational speech to youth players at a camp, Tatum went on a sidebar about how he doesn’t like to be around a person who thinks they’re the smartest in the room.

“Being around somebody that feels like they know it all, I don’t wanna be around that person. I don’t wanna be the smartest person in the room, I want to learn from somebody else.”

Brown is considered one of the most intelligent players in the NBA because of his family background, his attending Graduate level courses in his one year at UC Berkeley, and widespread pre-draft concerns about Brown being ‘too smart for the league.’

Tatum’s comment directly refers to the past reports about Brown’s high intelligence leading to him feeling like he’s the smartest in the room, something Colin Cowherd reported was a major factor behind Boston’s decision to trade him.

Tatum could’ve avoided making such a direct comment given the context of how Brown’s intelligence has led to these concerns for years. Tatum inadvertently (or intentionally) confirmed those concerns.

The 2026-27 season will be the first time Tatum will be in the Celtics locker room without Brown by his side. This will also be his first full season back from an Achilles injury without Brown’s consistent play as a co-star or the No. 1 option ahead of Tatum.

In many ways, Tatum will be chasing Brown as his former teammate won both Finals MVP trophies over him. The only way to rectify that is to prove he can lead the Celtics to a title as a No. 1 option, especially with Brown now on a superteam with LeBron James, Tyrese Maxey, and Joel Embiid.