Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens just dropped the mic on the critics of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown following his team's victorious trip to the 2024 NBA Finals. During the course of the postseason, Tatum and Brown faced criticisms despite Boston dominating in each round.
Celtics' Brad Stevens calls out Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum criticism
With the Celtics having the last laugh, Stevens decided to add more to the bitter feelings of the star duo's haters. During an interview with Rachel Nichols following Boston's masterful dissection of the Dallas Mavericks that resulted in a 106-88 Game 5 win at TD Garden, Stevens did not hold back, as he let his true feelings flow.
“The criticism is stupid. [Tatum & Brown] achieved more than most 25, 26-year-olds ever had. The scrutiny was because they were playing in May & June,” Stevens said.
“I'd rather be in the mix and have my guts ripped out, than suck. And those two have been really good for a long time.”
Stevens was right. There will always be increased attention to teams and players who were left standing and in contention for the NBA title after the regular season. That is not to mention that the Celtics had an incredible regular season which only added to the pressure on their shoulders entering the playoffs.
Despite the Celtics winning 64 games in the regular season and capturing the top seed in the Eastern Conference, many thought that Boston wouldn't be able to reach the top with Tatum and Brown. That belief was perhaps rooted in and amplified by the fact that Boston fell short in the previous two seasons; Boston lost to the Golden State Warriors in the 2022 NBA Finals and then was eliminated a year later by the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference finals.
But as what the Celtics' 2024 NBA Playoffs showed and proved to everyone, Tatum and Brown have what it takes to guide Boston to the franchise's first taste of an NBA championship since the days of Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, and Kevin Garnett in 2008.
During the 2024 NBA Playoffs, the Celtics leaned heavily on Tatum and Brown, but not without getting plenty of support from the other weapons as well. Tatum led Boston in the postseason with 25.0 points per game, while Brown was right behind with 23.9 points per outing.
Against the Mavericks, Tatum struggled with his shot, and that attracted plenty more disparagement for the former Duke Blue Devils star. Tatum averaged 22.2 points in the Mavs series, shot just 38.8 percent from the floor, and connected on just 26.3 percent of his attempts from the 3-point region. However, even when his shots were not falling consistently, Tatum found a way to help his team on offense. He achieved a team-best 7.2 assists against the Mavericks. As for Brown, he put up 20.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game in the finals en route to winning the 2024 NBA Finals Most Valuable Player award.
But apart from Tatum and Brown, the Celtics' success can definitely be attributed as well to the likes of Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porziņģis, and Al Horford — and, of course, the guy responsible for getting those three guys to Boston — Stevens.
As much as Stevens wants to deflect the credit that he deserves, the Celtics likely wouldn't have captured banner No. 18 this year if not for his incredible steering of Boston's front office.
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