Tuesday night’s matchup marked the first time Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown faced each other since the latter’s trade to the Philadelphia 76ers. The reunion came amid reports of a strained relationship between the former Boston Celtics teammates. And now, according to Tracy McGrady, JB had one immediate concern when he learned about the trade.

The NBA Hall of Famer recently recalled the conversation on NBC’s broadcast. It transpired when McGrady was busy with his Ones Basketball League in Orlando, where Jaylen Brown owns a team. The news broke on the same day when JB was supposed to appear for OBL. T-Mac’s team quickly brought the development to his attention. “Everybody’s running to me, ‘Yo, JB just got traded,'” McGrady recalled. He wasted little time reaching out to the former Celtics star.

“So I called JB. I was like, ‘So what’s up, bro? How you feel?'” Jaylen Brown’s response caught McGrady’s attention. “And his first thing was like, ‘They know I hated Philly, right? Like, they know I hated Philly.'”

The reaction wasn’t entirely surprising. Jaylen Brown had made his feelings about Philadelphia clear shortly after the move became official. Having spent a decade in Boston, he had developed a natural dislike for one of the franchise’s biggest rivals.

“For the past 10 years, I’ve been programmed to hate Philadelphia. From the history of the rivalry to the playoff battles, all of the above with. I’ve been programmed to be like, ‘man, f–k the process.'” However, the rivalry might not have been the only reason the trade was difficult to process.

Brown’s relationship with Jayson Tatum had also become a major talking point before and after the trade.

ESPN’s Shams Charania previously reported that the two stars had a serious conversation over dinner in France in late June 2026. The meeting came after Boston unsuccessfully pursued Giannis Antetokounmpo, with Brown reportedly included in the Celtics’ trade proposal. It also happened just days before the franchise sent him to Philadelphia.

“My understanding is Jaylen Brown confronted and approached Tatum at a dinner to discuss their future as a duo and where Jayson Tatum stood on all of it,” Charania revealed.

“It was described to me as a ‘heart-to-heart’ between these two sides that multiple people witnessed in person. But Jaylen Brown didn’t leave that conversation knowing where his future was at moving forward.”

The uncertainty appears to have carried over after the trade. Charania also reported that the two hadn’t spoken since Brown’s departure. Their first notable interaction afterward did little to suggest that things had improved.

During warmups, Tatum attempted to dap up his former teammate. Brown, however, paid little attention to the gesture and offered no visible response.