塔图姆与杰伦·布朗季前赛对决前热身零交流，昔日凯尔特人双星形同陌路

It was a strange scene in the TD Garden tonight as the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers faced off for their latest preseason matchup. Typically, these exhibition games are not worth remembering, as they carry little weight on the actual season itself. In this case, though, it gave us our first look at two former teammates turned rivals: Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

For the first time in 10 years, the young stars warmed up on opposite sides of the court, making it clear they are no longer allies. While there were no obvious signs of contempt, it was a weird sight for Celtics fans, many of whom assumed that Brown would be in Boston for life.

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown both here warming up, for the first time as opponents rather than teammates https://t.co/G1nCc9LtCr

— Noa Dalzell (@NoaDalzell) October 10, 2026

It’s an unassuming scene on the surface— just two former teammates warming up in a preseason game. But after what they accomplished together, you’d expect the reunion to be cordial and friendly. After all, both Brown and Tatum spoke well about each other after their split. Going from practically brothers on the court to not even talking at all is certainly unexpected, and may tell us something about the current state of their relationship.

Tatum & Brown didn’t say a single word to each other at warmups. Welp.

(via @NBCSBoston) https://t.co/RyIc6KYaAh

— Polymarket Hoops (@PolymarketHoops) October 11, 2026

Tatum and Brown were only drafted one year apart. They came up together and became stars at roughly the same time, leading the Celtics to years of prosperity that peaked with a championship in 2024. While critics and fans often tried to split them up, they stayed true to each other and remained loyal to the Celtics, only for it to end this summer with the trade to Philadelphia.

At the time, the deal was highly criticized, and we still don’t know what prompted the Celtics to do it. By all accounts, they were in position to stay competitive for years, but they seemingly lost faith in their longtime duo, prompting them to choose one over the other. For Jaylen, it was akin to betrayal, and he’s looking to enact revenge however he can.

Interestingly, Tatum has been mostly silent about the ordeal. Aside from a few throwaway comments, he’s barely acknowledged Brown’s departure at all, hinting that he might be glad to be free of his former teammate.

Ultimately, we may never know where things stand between Tatum and Brown. After such a storied history together, it’s weird to see them fighting on opposing sides,  and it’s even weirder to see them not connect or catch up ahead of their first game against each other. It may be years before we know what really happened behind the scenes, but it’s clear that things will never be the same for these former partners and ex-co-stars. Sadly, breakups like these are just the nature of the business in the NBA, and the brutal reality that every duo faces in the current CBA era.