It wasn’t supposed to be like this for Brown and Tatum, especially after they won a title together in 2024. All the outside noise that said the two stars couldn’t co-exist looked to be just that — noise.

However, after a devastating Achilles injury Tatum suffered against the New York Knicks in the 2025 post-season that robbed him of most of last season, Brown stepped into the spotlight and his ascension could no longer keep him in Tatum’s shadow — even with Tatum returning from injury much earlier than expected.

A fateful Twitch stream gone awry that saw Brown talk about his 2025-26 campaign being the most fun he’s ever had in the NBA was all it took for the wheels to be put in motion for his eventual departure.

Following those comments, there were rumours that the Celtics were shopping Brown for Giannis Antetokounmpo, and that Boston was probably looking to get out of his monster contract.

The Antetokounmpo deal, somehow, didn’t work out for Boston, but when Philly came knocking with a package centred around picks and Paul George, Celtics boss Brad Stevens just couldn’t refuse.

And that now brings us to Tuesday night, when it looks like the trade has worked out for both sides with the Sixers and Celtics leading the Eastern Conference with 9-2 and 8-2 records, respectively.

Brown said he’ll be approaching the game like any other.

“It’s nothing to talk about,” Brown told reporters Sunday. “(Tatum’s) on his side, I’m on my side. We’re playing basketball. Both of us are trying to win. So, there’s nothing to talk about. Just check the ball up.”

Perhaps Brown really doesn’t see this as a big deal. After all, it’s not like it’s his return game to Boston on Jan. 21. Considering how everything went down this summer, however, there’s a good bet that there’s a lot more at stake than he’s letting on.