Celtics All-Star Weekend Notebook: Jayson Tatum inspires next generation, Jaylen Brown eyeing new leadership role, JD Davison a Rising Star

SAN FRANCISCO — All-Star weekend was, by and large, a mess. From the strikingly-long intermission that had players wondering if gameplay would ever resume to the lackluster atmosphere at Chase Center, the NBA’s attempt at reviving an event that has long been on the decline fell short by almost every account.

For the Celtics, it was largely a successful weekend. Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum’s All-Star team, dubbed Shaq’s OGs, won the tournament. Brown and Tatum, the team’s two youngest players, looked good in their limited stints; Tatum tallied 25 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 block across the two mini-games, while Brown recorded 12 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 steal, at one point going on a personal 8-0 run.

Sunday’s game was the main event, but it was perhaps the least interesting part of a jam-packed weekend of activities, at least from the Celtics perspective.

Here’s what stood out from the weekend of festivities, from on the ground in San Francisco and Oakland.

Jaylen Brown potentially eyeing NBPA presidency

Off the court, All-Star weekend serves as an opportunity for the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) to convene and make leadership decisions. The NBPA is responsible for negotiating the league’s collective bargaining agreements, handling disputes, and advocating for player welfare, among other endeavors.

Brown has been involved with the NBPA throughout his career and has been one of the league’s vice presidents since 2019.

On Sunday, Brown was re-elected by his peers as one of the league’s seven VPs. And, he hinted that he eventually may be headed toward the NBPA presidency — a position that Pelicans guard CJ McCollum currently holds.

“They’re kind of pushing me forward to maybe take the next step and be the official president,” Brown said. “I have a lot of stuff going on, but I enjoy using my platform, learning about the players, hearing from the players, and applying some of our voices to what needs to be changed and what we would like to be changed.”

Brown said he has found the NBPA experience enriching.

“I’ve learned a lot, been on a lot of phone calls, a lot of Zoom calls, talked a lot of people, spent time with Adam [Silver], built a relationship with everybody on the NBA side,” he said. “We’ll see how the next year or two plays out, but I love serving the players and serving the next generation of players.”

The renewed NBPA leadership role was far from Brown’s only off-court accomplishment this weekend. The 2024 Finals MVP also spent a day in Oakland, where he announced the launch of a new incubator building for Black-owned businesses as part of his new nonprofit, the Oakland XChange. (A deeper dive into this endeavor is coming later this week on SB Nation.)

Jayson Tatum inspiring the next generation of hoopers

Tatum excelled in his 7th All-Star appearance; he recorded 6 points on 3-4 shooting in the first game, and followed that up with a game-high 15 points on 6-7 shooting, including 3-4 from three.

Despite being Team Shaq’s most efficient scorer across the two games, Tatum was probably never destined to win MVP from a panel of voters that disproportionately represented the Bay Area. Steph Curry ultimately garnered 13 of 15 MVP votes, with just one vote going to Tatum.

Of note, Tatum was notably the youngest player on Team Shaq (Tatum is 26 and in contrast, Jalen Brunson, who was on the Young Stars team, is 28). But, Tatum’s placement on the most veteran team makes sense considering his career accolades (NBA championship, two Finals appearances, five Eastern Conference Finals appearances), and the fact that there’s now a younger generation of players who look up to him.

One of those guys is Stephon Castle, the Spurs standout rookie who was selected fourth overall in the 2024 NBA Draft.

Over the summer, Castle wasn’t shy about admitting that Tatum was his favorite player in the league, and on Friday, he got the chance to play against him in the All-Star Game (just a few days after playing against him in Boston).

Afterward, Castle gushed about the experience.

“I’ve been a big fan of JT for a minute now,” Castle said. “Just being able to share the court with him — it’s definitely a blessing.”

Castle fittingly wore Tatum’s signature Nike sneakers during the Rising Stars game, while Washington Wizards rookie Bub Carrington wore Jaylen Brown’s 741 performance shoes. The rookies donning the Celtics stars’ shoes reflected the reality that despite Tatum and Brown’s relatively young age, they’re already considered OGs.

JD Davison gets the chance to shine on the big stage

Maine Celtics star JD Davison was invited to participate in the Rising Stars Challenge, which took place on Friday night. The event featured three teams: two teams comprised of the NBA’s best rookies and sophomores, and one made up of a cast of G-League standouts.

Davison, who has averaged 25.1 points and 7.8 assists in his third year as a two-way player for the Maine Celtics, was named a member of the G-League team — which defeated a team filled with elite NBA players like Amen and Ausur Thompson — to advance to Friday night’s final game.

The G-League team ultimately fell short in that one, missing out on the chance to compete on All-Star Sunday night. Davison expressed his disappointment at the fact that his team failed to advance, noting he was particularly excited about the chance to potentially compete against Celtics teammates Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

“I was going at them regardless,” Davison said with a smile, shortly after his team fell 25-14 in the championship game.

Davison is on his third (and final) two-way contract with the Celtics and has gotten better and better each year he’s been in the league, pointing to his continuity with the organization as a benefit.

Still, he’s yet to receive an opportunity to play in the big leagues. Davison said that he’s used Payton Pritchard as a resource about how to deal with the mental side of things.

“I pick his brain a lot, talk to him about the ups and downs,” Davison said.

The winner of the Rising Stars tournament, a team led by Dalton Knecht, Zach Edey, Stephon Castle, and other young talents, ultimately fell to the OGs in the first game of the All-Star tournament. But, it would have been a lot more fun to see Davison get the chance to battle against Brown and Tatum.