Boston Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum was among the many big names at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York City, on Sunday for the final night of Jay Z’s three-night concert. Tatum had a blast at the concert, and as he left the arena afterward, a New York Knicks fan wildly recruited him.
“We gonna get you on the Knicks, son,” the fan said. “We gotta get you out of Boston, they too racist out there. Yo, we’re gonna get you out of Boston. You know they racist. New York is racist too, but not like Boston n***a. I mean, brother.”
Fans in the Bronx tried to recruit Jayson Tatum out of Boston after Jay Z’s concert pic.twitter.com/RiVMcCOSYs
— 2Cool2Blog (@2Cool2Blog) July 13, 2026
Tatum appeared to smile as he heard this crazy recruiting pitch. The six-time All-Star might have expected some Knicks fan to try to rub it in his face that they won the championship, not this.
The city of Boston, of course, has had this racist label on it for a very long time now. Quite a few players have complained about suffering racist abuse over the years. Tatum has expressed sadness over this in the past, but he also shared that he has never heard any racist abuse in Boston. He has a lot of love for a city that has become home for him after the Celtics selected him with the No. 3 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.
Now, Celtics fans are currently upset about the No. 3 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, Jaylen Brown, being traded to the rival Philadelphia 76ers. If Tatum were to somehow go too and end up on the Knicks, of all teams, there might be riots in Boston.
It’s safe to say, though, that Tatum, who is entering the second year of a five-year, $314 million contract, isn’t going anywhere. The 28-year-old has never expressed an interest in leaving the Celtics, and the front office has never put him in trade talks, either.
NBA insider Shams Charania also reported on The Stephen A. Smith Show that the Celtics made it crystal clear to teams recently that Tatum is going nowhere.
“Over the last three, four weeks, while this Jaylen Brown stuff was going on, teams were calling the Celtics on Jayson Tatum,” Charania said. “Their answer was hard stop no. We’re not trading Jayson Tatum. He’s untouchable. He’s not on the table. Jaylen Brown, different story. Open for business, ready to trade him, give us your best offer. So that’s the dichotomy of both of those situations.
“Just so we know from a reporting perspective, like they treated Jaylen Brown different than they treated Jayson Tatum,” Charania added.
Brown had constantly seen his name in trade rumors over the years, but Tatum hadn’t. It’s been blatantly obvious that the Celtics hold the latter in much higher regard than the former. Even Tatum tearing his Achilles in the 2025 playoffs and Brown finishing sixth in MVP voting in 2026 didn’t change how the Celtics viewed these two.
There was some concern over whether Tatum could get back to his best after that injury, but all of that is gone now. He averaged 21.8 points, 10.0 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.4 steals, and 0.2 blocks per game in 2025-26. For Tatum to play that well less than a year after suffering that injury was remarkable. Expect him to put on a show next season.
