Bob Cousy Issues Brutally Honest Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum Message

In just a matter of months, the Boston Celtics have gone from being the best team in the NBA to a borderline playoff contender. And if you ask franchise legend Bob Cousy, he doesn’t have high hopes for the 2025-26 campaign.

Everything changed for the Celtics when Jayson Tatum suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the New York Knicks. With a lengthy injury rehab on the horizon, Boston’s front office made a concerted effort to duck the second apron of the league’s new salary cap.

That led to Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis getting traded away, with Luke Kornet (and most likely Al Horford) heading out the door in free agency. In the blink of an eye, Boston’s 2024 Finals roster had been completely dismantled.

With Tatum out, that means the spotlight is going to be shining on Brown quite brightly next season. Some folks are optimistic that Brown can fill Tatum’s shoes as the top option on the team, but Cousy isn’t a part of that crowd, as he doesn’t think Brown is capable of leading the team like Tatum.

“In my judgment, Jaylen is not quite at the superstar level that Tatum is at,” Cousy said in an interview with Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe. “Can he carry the load by himself?”

“I see a major rebuilding effort here. Jaylen certainly won’t bring them to the promised land … [Derrick] White’s a good player and he’ll produce and he’ll be consistent, but his game doesn’t lend itself to carrying a team”.

Brown is a four-time All-Star who won Finals MVP for the Celtics in 2024, but pretty much everything he’s done in his career has been done alongside Tatum. For the first time in his NBA career, Brown will have an opportunity to be the de facto top option for Boston.

It’s an opportunity that Brown relishes, but it remains to be seen whether he alone will be able to help the C’s overcome their shortcomings across the rest of their roster. Cousy isn’t confident, but Brown has defied the odds several times throughout his career, so who’s to say he can’t do it again?