There’s been a lot of talk about Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum in recent weeks, and both talents are comfortable being a Batman and Robin combo for the Celtics as they head to the NBA Finals.
Brown has tended to be the higher-volume scorer of late, averaging more points (27.0) than Tatum (25.8) over the last two rounds. Recency bias is a powerful elixir, particularly for those lost in the mire that is NBA Twitter. Brown’s recent exploits have captivated many, leading them to claim that Brown, and not Tatum, is the Boston Green’s best player.
After the Celtics’ Game 2 victory over the Mavericks, a familiar face joined Brown at the NBA TV table to talk business: the former Boston “great” (and Inside the NBA co-host) Shaquille O’Neal. O’Neal knows a thing or two about sharing the spotlight with a fellow superstar; He did it with Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles and Dwyane Wade in Miami.
O’Neal offered some direction to Brown while the two sat at the desk, albeit rather indirectly. Here’s what you need to know about O’Neal’s comments toward one of Boston’s superstars, Jaylen Brown.
What did Shaquille O’Neal say to Jaylen Brown?
O’Neal offered some advice to Brown during his latest appearance on NBA TV, offering his perspective on the debate that has come to define NBA Twitter in recent weeks: who is better, Brown or Tatum?
He simply did it in perhaps the most complicated way possible, cloaking his suggestion in all the mystique one would expect from the Big Shamrock.
Shaq: “Don’t obsess over useless titles. Do what you have to do.”@MattWinerTV: “Did that make sense to you?”
Jaylen: “No.”
Shaq: “Okay, let me break it down… It doesn’t matter who the guy is!”
Shaq had to break down his G-14 rating to JB ?? pic.twitter.com/YX05XKQDbd
—NBA TV (@NBATV) June 10, 2024
“Jaylen, I don’t have any questions. But I’m going to give you information about the G-14 classification, because this will be the last time you see me. It’s a riddle; don’t obsess over useless titles. What you have to do. It doesn’t matter who’s who, or who’s what. It’s not the time for all that now. Do what you have to do and do it,” O’Neal advised Brown.
The message didn’t affect Brown at all, at least not initially. Co-host Matt Winer sensed it and gave Brown a chance to ask for some clarification. O’Neal responded in kind, citing his experiences with Bryant as a reason for Brown to ignore the noise and focus on winning gold with Boston.
“They’re trying to separate you and your boy. [Jayson Tatum] saying who’s better,” O’Neal added. “Don’t worry about useless titles, no matter who the man is. Kobe is the man, Shaq is the man, it doesn’t matter. “I’m getting my 40, Kobe’s getting his 39, we’re going to win a championship.”
O’Neal’s comments didn’t come out of left field. Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd crowned Brown as Boston’s best player in the lead-up to Game 2, baffling some and irritating others inside Boston’s camp.
In the end, Kidd’s endorsement of Brown did little to steer the C’s off course; Powered by Brown, Tatum, Jrue Holiday and Derrick White, Boston earned a 105-98 victory to move another game closer to NBA immortality. Brown and Tatum left their fingerprints all over the showcase, with Brown dropping 21 points, seven assists and four rebounds on 8-of-15 shooting and Tatum falling one rebound shy of a triple-double.
Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant playoff stats
O’Neal and Bryant earned many honors during their time in Tinseltown, combining to lead the Lakers to three consecutive NBA titles. Both stars played pivotal roles, with O’Neal being the dominant presence in the paint who imposed his will against the tired willows he competed against and Bryant offering guile and skill in the backcourt.
O’Neal was widely seen as the most important figure in Los Angeles’ success. This was also confirmed in his praise; O’Neal took home Finals MVP in all three championship runs.
At first glance, the statistics seem to reveal a similar sentiment. In 119 playoff games between them, O’Neal averaged more points than the Black Mamba.
However, there is more to shine on the margins. For starters, when O’Neal arrived in the City of Angels, he was a full-fledged supernova who had already garnered MVP votes in each of his first four seasons in the league. Meanwhile, Bryant was far from his peak, where he averaged more than 30 points a night. He also had his fair share of offensive outbursts: Take his 36- and 48-point explosions to beat the Kings in the 2001 Western Conference semifinals or the 45-point masterclass he unleashed against the Spurs in the next round.
Here’s a closer look at O’Neal and Bryant’s playoff numbers when they played together:
| Shaquille O’Neal | per game | Kobe Bryant |
| 119 | Games played | 119 |
| 27.7 | Points | 22.6 |
| 13.4 | Rebounds | 4.8 |
| 3.0 | Assists | 4.4 |
| 0.5 | steal | 1.4 |
| 2.5 | Blocks | 0.7 |
| 2.9 | lost the ball | 2.7 |
| 41.0 | Minutes | 38.3 |
| 55.6 | Field goal % | 43.4 |
| 0.0 | % of 3 points | 32.3 |
| 52.1 | Free shot % | 79.2 |
Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum playoff stats
Throughout their playoff runs, Tatum has been a more productive player than Brown. However, Brown has closed the gap as a scorer lately. Tatum, on the other hand, appears to be becoming a more prolific playmaker, trading baskets for assists as Boston moves up the basketball totem pole.
Here’s a look at the two J’s stats during this season’s playoffs so far:
| Jaylen Brown | per game | Jayson Tatum |
| 24.6 | Points | 24.9 |
| 6.0 | Rebounds | 10.3 |
| 2.9 | Assists | 6.3 |
| 1.3 | steal | 1.0 |
| 0.7 | Blocks | 0.7 |
| 2.8 | lost the ball | 2.7 |
| 37.1 | Minutes | 40.9 |
| 54.3 | Field goal % | 42.6 |
| 35.6 | % of 3 points | 28.9 |
| 63.6 | Free shot % | 83.9 |
Did Shaquille O’Neal play for the Celtics?
In fact, O’Neal played for the Celtics and spent his final season in the league in Beantown. He only played 37 games with the franchise before hanging up his shoes. As a 38-year-old player in his 18th NBA season, he was quite effective, averaging 9.2 points and 4.8 rebounds in just 20.3 minutes of action per night.
