There’s been a lot of discourse going around about the Celtics’ star duo, and they’ve continuously ignored the noise around them.
Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd attempted to play mind games heading into Game 2 on Sunday when he called Jaylen Brown the best player in Boston. However, Tatum nor his teammates budged on the assertion and went on to beat Dallas to take a 2-0 series lead in the NBA Finals.
Shaquille O’Neal knows firsthand what’s like to deal with outside noise, especially during his Los Angeles Lakers years with Kobe Bryant. He attempted to pass down some wisdom to Brown after Game 2.
“I’m going to give you some G-14 classification information because this is going to be the last time you see me,” O’Neal told Brown on NBA TV. “It’s a riddle. Do not get fixated on useless titles. Do what you gotta do. It doesn’t matter who’s who or they say who’s what. It ain’t time for all that right now. Do what you gotta do and get it done.”
Story continues below advertisement
While it seemed like simple enough advice, perhaps word choices and a “Rush Hour” reference threw Brown off because when NBA TV host Matt Winer asked if that made sense to him, the Celtics star admitted it did not.
“OK, well, let me break it down,” O’Neal said. “They’re trying to separate you and your guy by saying who’s better. I’m saying, don’t worry about useless titles. ‘Who’s the man?’ Don’t matter who the man is. Kobe’s the man. Shaq’s the man. Don’t matter. I’m getting my 40. Kobe’s getting his 39. Let’s go win these championships. Since you didn’t understand, I had to break it down to you.”
Brown understood the point the second time around, but what seemed like a legend passing down advice to the next generation turned into a hilarious moment for O’Neal.
Story continues below advertisement
Tatum and Brown didn’t have standout performances in Game 2 on Sunday, but they’ll look to keep the winning ways going for Boston as it looks to take a 3-0 series lead Wednesday.
Featured image via Peter Casey/USA TODAY Sports Images
