One notable claim was that a smiling Tatum was not happy for Brown after the latter took home ECF MVP honors for his play against the Pacers. 

Amid all of the vitriol doled out toward him over the last few weeks, Tatum was asked about just how much that discourse bothers him, especially for things that go beyond miscues and shortcomings on the court. 

“I think more so than me — it’s my mom, my grandma, my family and friends,” Tatum said.”They’re more bothered by it than me. I understand, like, if [Tatum’s son] Deuce was to make it to the NBA, people were talking about him every single day, as a parent, I wouldn’t be able to separate the superstar from the child.

“My mom took it a little tougher than maybe I did. But for me, I don’t take it personal, right? Just a long break without NBA basketball, so they had to overanalyze every little thing, have something to talk about. Did it get old? Yeah. But, you know, it’s the Finals. They wouldn’t talk about me if I wasn’t good, so… Try to take some positives out of it and change the channel.”

Brown has been vocal about his image and any potential slights that have been dished out against him this postseason, especially his snubs for both All-NBA and All-Defense teams this season. 

For Brown, that mindset and guarded approach regarding his reputation has been in place for years. 

“You get to a point where it’s, like, you get scrutinized enough for a large part of your career, it becomes normal,” Brown said. “Then it just rolls off you. For me, at least, I can say. I don’t know if Jayson feels the same way. 

“It’s kind of been that my whole career in a sense. Just being booed when you were drafted to saying you were overpaid, saying you were overpaid again. It’s been that the whole journey for me. It just becomes another headline.” 

Tatum and Brown are far from the first NBA stars to be saddled with scrutiny in their respective careers — nor will they be the last. 

But their teammate, Jrue Holiday, believes both Tatum and Brown have not let that commentary hinder their growth as two of the best players in the NBA. 

“I mean, everybody gets scrutinized, right? When I was in Milwaukee, it was about Giannis [Antetokounmpo] not having enough help. … The pressure that JB and JT have to take on is something different,” Holiday said.

“I’ve told them this before, but it’s really impressive how they handle themselves, how they stay professional, how they still come out every game and do what they do. I think it’s extremely impressive how they do that.”