They’re both talented players, but can they win together?
They contend every year, but can they get over the hump?
They get along, but are they actually friends?
These questions appeared on loop over the past seven years. Some of it was just fodder from folks who had no idea, while some of it was truly unknown.
Last season, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown answered all those questions with a resounding and triumphant, Mike Gorman-level “YES!” Together, they fueled the Celtics to their first championship since 2008. Together, they silenced the doubters. Together, they delivered on the promise they made to themselves.
“This summer, my heart wasn’t broken,” Brown told reporters Tuesday at Media Day.
Now, they’re back to try and do it all over again, with the same supporting cast that helped vault them over the top. With the pressure of delivering a title to Boston finally removed, and an unprecedented level of self-assuredness and zen for both, we may see the best versions of Tatum and Brown this year.
While they’re already two of the league’s premier players, both can certainly improve. Both looked freer and lighter (maybe it was just Jaylen’s lack of his signature bushy beard) at Media Day. They looked like two guys who reached the mountaintop, took a collective exhale and are ready to run it back.
“It was never about trying to just win one,” Tatum told reporters. “ … All the guys I looked up to growing up won at least one championship. Now it’s just a conversation of how great are you trying to be?”
From the moment they arrived in Boston, Tatum and Brown were under a microscope like few others in professional sports. It’s different with the Celtics. This isn’t the Charlotte Hornets. When you arrive in Boston, there’s immediate pressure to win a championship – especially as back-to-back No. 3 picks.
At first, they were getting their bearings, and people understood that. Once they emerged as perennial contenders, everyone expected them to finish the job. Even after strong and successful seasons, people criticized them for not doing enough.
They improved, stayed level-headed and stayed hungry, but carrying around that burden of searching for banner 18 had to weigh on them heavily. It just had to. When you meet Bill Russell, Larry Bird, Paul Pierce, and so on, it’s inevitable that you’d feel a sense of inferiority.
What will it take to join those guys? What if good isn’t good enough? What if it never happens?
Tatum and Brown deserve an immense amount of credit for staying the course and trusting the work. Brad Stevens deserves an immense amount of credit for building off the foundation Danny Ainge started. Joe Mazzulla, the staff and the rest of the players deserve the same for bringing out the best in Tatum and Brown.
Now, that cinder block is no longer resting squarely on their shoulders. There’s no wondering what-if anymore. Brown and Tatum can play freely, with no inhibitions and with significantly less pressure. Of course they want another one, but no one can ever take this one away.
For Tatum, playing freely could mean becoming a more consistent shooter, avoiding those 6-for-19 games and continuing to showcase his underrated passing ability. He’s at his best when he’s flirting with a triple-double – a threat to shoot, a threat to drive and a threat to pass.
Tatum understands he’s not a finished product, which goes a long way for a player of his caliber.
“As accomplished as I am, I just always feel like, overall, I can still get better,” Tatum told NBC Sports Boston. “You haven’t seen the best version of Jayson Tatum. I’m only 26. I should continue to keep getting better.”
For Brown, less pressure could mean taking his already-elite defense to the next level, sharpening that left hand even more and getting to the free-throw line regularly. Brown knows what it’s like to be doubted and questioned. Now, all he has to do is show his Finals MVP trophy.
“I’m glad nothing was handed to me,” Brown told reporters. “I was the third pick and I had to earn everything in this organization. That’s not always the case.”
Expect to see Brown and Tatum smile more, ride the rollercoaster less and worry about the big picture less often. They got what they wanted, and now it’s time to get another. They’ll be ready, and they may be more dangerous than ever before.
