Jaylen Brown And Jayson Tatum Share Heartwarming Exchange On Instagram

A lot has been made of Brown pipping Tatum to the Finals MVP award, with many assuming Tatum is upset over the outcome. The 26-year-old forward has made it clear that he is extremely happy that his longtime teammate Brown got the recognition he deserves.

"First of all, congrats to him. Well deserved, extremely happy for him. This is a hell of an accomplishment. The main goal for us was to win a championship. We didn't care who got Finals MVP. I know that I need him through this journey, and he needs me. So, it was great seeing him have that moment and share that moment with him. I'm extremely happy for him, well deserved. That was big time, he earned it."

Even when Brown was named Finals MVP, his first thought on the mic was about how he shared the triumph with Tatum and his other teammates.

"It was a full team effort, and I share this with my brothers and my partner in crime. Jayson Tatum, he was with me the whole way. So we share this sh*t together."

Tatum averaged 22.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 7.2 assists on 38.8% from the field in the NBA Finals while Brown averaged 20.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.0 assists on 44.0% from the field. Their different levels of offensive efficiency swayed voters, as Brown won the FMVP vote 7-4 after also winning the Eastern Conference Finals MVP the series prior. 

Jaylen Brown Gets Real On Finally Getting Over The Hump Alongside Tatum

Brown and Tatum have been trying to prove their worth as a championship-winning pairing since 2018. Despite the setbacks, they continued pushing towards their goal before finally accomplishing it this season. Jaylen reflected on the growth of the duo over their quest for a title.

"Just our growth together. We've been through a lot. We've been playing together for seven years now. We've been through a lot. The losses, the expectations, the media. It said all different types of things, you know, we can't play together, we're never going to win, we earned it all. You know, we just blocked it out and we just kept going. I trust him, he trusted me, and we did it together. So, you know, to get to this point, you know, and share that experience with JT is just awesome. I can't, you know what I mean, it's just amazing. It feels great."

Given the strength of the Celtics' roster and the fact that the core is all signed up for more years, it seems unquestionable that they'll be among the favorites to win the title next season as well unless we have some team make moves in the offseason that guarantee their position as contenders.