Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum’s first meeting as opponents became one of the talking points from Tuesday night’s Celtics-76ers matchup. The former teammates shared an awkward pregame moment in Philadelphia, with Brown appearing to ignore Tatum’s attempt to acknowledge him. But the interaction was not the only part that drew criticism. Bill Simmons also took aim at NBC after the network’s split-screen coverage failed to capture the exchange in a wider shot.

Simmons was particularly critical of the broadcast decision, arguing that the production team should have anticipated the possibility of an interaction between the two former teammates before tipoff.

“They literally had one job during this game, which was to make sure when Tatum approaches LeBron or Brown or Brown approaches Tatum right before the game starts, make sure you have a wide shot and you can capture what happens. They f***ed it up,” Simmons said.

Brown and Tatum spent nine seasons together in Boston and won the 2024 NBA championship, with Brown named Finals MVP, before Boston traded him to Philadelphia in July.

Simmons believed Brown could have handled the situation differently. Rather than spinning the ball on his finger while Tatum approached, he suggested that Brown could have acknowledged his former teammate with a simple gesture or chosen to walk away without making the moment more awkward.

“What do you think of that idea? You know what I would have said? That’s f****ng stupid. Don’t do that. Be a bigger man. Just do a fist bump, slap each other on the b*tt, whatever. Or just ignore him,” Simmons said.

He then brought up Larry Bird’s response to Bill Laimbeer during the Celtics-Pistons rivalry in 1987. Simmons recalled Bird refusing Laimbeer’s handshake after the two had fought in the previous game, suggesting Brown could have taken a similar approach if he did not want to engage.

“Do what Larry Bird did in 1987 Game 5 in Boston against Detroit, and Laimbeer walks over and goes to shake his hand, and Bird just looks at it with complete disdain and basically just wants no part of him,” Simmons said.

Bird and Laimbeer were ejected following a fight in Game 3 of the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals. The handshake refusal took place before Game 4 in Pontiac, Michigan, according to contemporary coverage. Bird’s response still illustrates the point Simmons was trying to make, even though the game number and location in his account were inaccurate.

Simmons also felt the awkwardness extended beyond the players. He described it as uncomfortable for Tatum and everyone watching, while questioning why NBC had not kept a wider camera angle ready for such a significant pregame moment.

“The spinning the basketball thing, it was just lame, and it was a weird moment. It was weird for Tatum. It was weird for everybody, and it was also weird for NBC, who just missed it because they were in a split screen inexplicably,” Simmons said.

The game itself ended with Boston securing a 123-101 win over Philadelphia. Paul George led the Celtics with 36 points, while Tatum added 21 points and six rebounds. Brown finished with 13 points in his first appearance against his former team. After the game, Brown said he was focused on his team and had not been paying attention to the attempted greeting.