Austin Rivers Compares Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum To Legendary NBA Duo
With Jaylen Brown absolutely balling for the Boston Celtics and Jayson Tatum rumored to be returning as early as March, hot takes have started to emerge pertaining to potential chemistry problems.
While some of these takes are bit overblown — especially since Tatum and Brown have won a championship together and played on the same team for years — there is something to be said about Brown proving beyond a reasonable doubt that he’s a viable No. 1 option on a winning team, something that the masses doubted before this season.
Will Brown’s rise conflict with Tatum’s return? History tells us that it won’t. Former NBA player Austin Rivers (son of former Celtics head coach Doc Rivers) talked about the Tatum-Brown dynamic this week, comparing the duo to how LeBron James and Dwyane Wade operated on the Miami Heat.
“This is not a Kyrie and Bron situation,” Rivers said. “This is more Bron and D-Wade first year … where Bron is a better player but Wade has the soul of the team. Tatum and Brown (are) going to have that relationship.”
Rivers’ take was original, but it was a tad problematic, seeing as the Wade-James relationship in Miami changed drastically following that first year, which, by the way, ended in an NBA Finals loss, proving the dynamic wasn’t ideal. After that first year, LeBron took over as the team’s clear alpha, and Wade started to play second fiddle.
Yes, Rivers was talking about the first year in his example, but that was never a sustainable situation in Miami.
It’s more likely that Brown and Tatum will naturally mesh in a way that’s unique from LeBron and Wade. Will it be a different situation than the 2024 title team, in which Tatum was the clear No. 1? Perhaps, perhaps not. The main variable right now is that Tatum isn’t going to be operating at Hall of Fame capacity when he immediately gets back from injury. He’ll need some runway to establish rhythm, and until then, Brown is more than capable of steering the ship.
Through 33 games this season, Brown is averaging 29.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game on 50.1 percent shooting from the field.
The Celtics sit at 23-12. Brown tied a career-high 50 points in a January 3 rout of the Clippers, where he went 18-of-26 from the field and 6-of-10 from three.