"I love you, bro": Jayson Tatum reveals his first words to Jaylen Brown after winning the NBA championship

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have been dealing with rumors and negative narratives about their relationship. Many have insisted over the years that they can’t get along well. Some predicted that the Boston Celtics would break up the partnership if they suffered another disappointing NBA Finals appearance.

Tatum and Brown proved they could carry the Celtics to the top of the NBA. By beating the Dallas Mavericks 4-1 in the championship round, Boston won its 18th title, the most in league history. Every basketball fan knew the Cs would not have done it without the two superstars working well to lead the team.

A few weeks after the series-clinching Game 5, Jayson Tatum opened up on his first conversation with Jaylen Brown on the “7PM in Brooklyn” podcast:

(21:56 mark)

“I didn't even get to JB until he got the Finals MVP trophy. And he was like, 'Yo, I couldn't have done this without JT' and we shook hands. I was just like, 'I love you, bro'. That was the first time we spoke after the buzzer, that was 10-15 minutes later."

The Boston Celtics players rushed to the court once the final buzzer sounded. They were all over the floor as confetti fell and many of their fans and families converged on the court to celebrate with them. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown looked for their respective families first to share the moment.

When Brown was awarded the NBA Finals MVP award, he told the crowd he was sharing it with his "brothers." JB specially mentioned his "partner-in-crime" Tatum. The two shared a hug as the fans rocked TD Garden.

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The Celtics have locked up Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum for years

During the Celtics championship celebration, Brad Stevens took a shot at the critics of both Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. The team’s president of basketball operations called the criticism of both as “stupid.” He said that despite years of failure, he would rather take that than “s**k.”

Stevens has also heard all the talks about the two being unable to get along together. Tatum and Brown have proven the opposite and he made sure he has both signed with the Celtics in multi-year deals.

Last year, Brad Stevens gave Jaylen Brown a five-year, $285.3 million contract, the biggest in NBA history at the time of the signing. Stevens re-wrote the history books by handing Jayson Tatum this offseason a staggering five-year, $313.9 million deal.

The Boston Celtics know what they have so they set out to secure their franchise cornerstones. The critics will never go away but Stevens has seen enough to ignore them. He is convinced the Celtics’ present and future are set with their two superstars locked up for a long time.