The Boston Celtics have been arguably the biggest surprise of this 2025-26 NBA season, as they are currently second in the Eastern Conference with a 41-21 record. The Celtics were expected to struggle a bit, as they had lost key pieces in the offseason and were going to be without the injured Jayson Tatum, but they have done just fine.
Much of the credit for the Celtics’ success has gone to Jaylen Brown, who has proven his critics wrong in some style. Brown’s excellent play has made him an MVP candidate, and former NBA player Theo Pinson posed an interesting question about him on his To The Baha podcast.
Pinson wondered whether the Celtics would be seen as Brown’s team, not Tatum’s, if he leads them to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2026. That question led to guest and former NBA champion JR Smith making quite a bold claim.
“Always been his team,” Smith said. “Why we gotta keep talking about it?… He’s a leader.”
As you’d imagine, Smith’s comments were met with surprise. Former NBA player and co-host Charlie Villanueva even hilariously asked him if he was under the influence.
“It’s always been his team, though,” Smith reiterated. “…For the players, I’m pretty sure it’s his team. For everybody else in the media from the outside, it’s Jayson Tatum’s team. That’s what they want it to look like… Jaylen Brown is the leader of that team, 100%. On and off the court.”
Now, Tatum, who tore his Achilles in the 2025 NBA playoffs against the New York Knicks, has never really come across as a great leader. He is more of a reserved character who lets his play do the talking. Brown could well be the more vocal leader among the two, but does that mean the Celtics have always been his team? Not really.
Coming into this season, Tatum had undoubtedly been the better player of the two. Sure, Brown was named Finals MVP when the Celtics won the NBA championship in 2024, but that hadn’t changed the pecking order.
Tatum made the All-NBA First Team for the fourth year in a row in 2025. The six-time All-Star also finished fourth in MVP voting for the second time in three years. In contrast, Brown has only ever made the All-NBA Second Team once, in 2023. The five-time All-Star had never received an MVP vote either.
There was no real argument on who was better or who the Celtics thought was better. Brown’s name was always the one thrown around in trade rumors in years past, not Tatum’s. It was pretty clear who they viewed as the crown jewel.
Tatum might still be that, but things will look different on the court if he returns this season, which is looking very likely. The Ringer’s Bill Simmons has predicted he’ll make his season debut against the Dallas Mavericks on Friday.
While Tatum has been the top dog in Boston for so long, Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix said during an appearance on Run It Back that he thinks the forward will take a backseat to Brown.
“I think Tatum knows, coming back, he’s stepping onto Jaylen Brown’s team,” Mannix said. “Brown is a top-5, top-6 MVP candidate this year. He has put this team on his back offensively, and Tatum’s going to have to find a way to fit into that. I think there will be an adjustment. But I ultimately think he’s going to be fine.”
This is certainly Brown’s team for now. He is averaging 28.9 points, 7.2 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.0 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game for the Celtics in 2025-26. Tatum has to figure out a way to play second fiddle, and it will be interesting to see how quickly he’s able to make that adjustment.
