The first matchup between Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum since Brown was traded from the Boston Celtics to the Philadelphia 76ers in July presumably meant on-court fireworks Tuesday.
Their interactions were limited to a cold interaction at tipoff as Tatum outscored Brown 21-13 in a 123-101 Boston victory. But, the Celtics' social media team didn't shy away from poking fun at Brown's new squad postgame.
Brown said Sunday that there was "nothing to talk about" with his former co-star Tatum ahead of them facing off.
"I mean, he's on his side, I'm on my side," Brown said. "Just playing basketball. Both of us are trying to win, so it's nothing to talk about. Just check the ball up."
The 2024 NBA Finals MVP had used that latter phrase before, specifically when traded to the 76ers. His first statement after the move included the hashtag: "Throw the ball up," a reference to Philadelphia's own promotional slogan. Brown also posted the hashtag when LeBron James announced his decision to sign with the 76ers in July.
Boston referred to that statement in its postgame caption, writing: "Threw the ball up."
Threw The Ball Up ☘️ https://t.co/SGtbA1KHuU
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) November 11, 2026
The Celtics sent Brown to the 76ers in a July trade that brought Paul George, who scored a game-high 36 points Tuesday, plus two first- and second-round picks.
Tatum and Brown won a championship together and were teammates for nine seasons, often viewed as one of the best tandems in the league.
Tatum said last month on his YouTube channel that he was "just as much caught off guard as the rest of the world" regarding the trade. Brown responded to the video on Instagram by commenting a blue hat emoji, a symbol for the slang term "cap," suggesting he wasn't buying Tatum's account.
Though Tatum and Brown have insisted that there is no beef between the two, Brown said that there "might be a little lamb chops and some gravy" and Tatum has a "hell of a PR team." It all set up Tuesday's meeting between them and two Eastern Conference contenders.
Brown will return to Boston in January, but the Celtics and Tatum got the upper hand for now, delivering a win on the court -- and rubbing salt in the wounds from it.
