The scrutiny on the Celtic duo was the highest last season during their championship run. But Carmelo Anthony supported both of them and advised that the media narrative of one being better than the other is not needed. In fact even during the Olympics debacle where Tatum got fewer minutes and Brown was not part of the squad, Melo voiced his opinion in their favor. Once again the Knicks legend praised the Celtics duo with a one-word response.

When the Boston side traveled to the Madison Square Garden, even Carmelo Anthony was seated for the clash. The Beantown came out on top after blowing the home team 131-104. Tatum ended up with a game-high 40 points on the night out of which he successfully trained 7 attempts from beyond the arc. In comparison, Brown could only score 12 points but was lively with his dunk. Post-game, Melo met the two and shared the photo on his Instagram.

“Respect 🫡” the 10x All-Star added a collage of two photos with the Celtics duo. This comes after he shared the post from the NBA on his story. “@jaytatum0 & @carmeloanthony after the @celtics win at MSG! 🤝.” As stated earlier, Melo has been one of the strongest advocates of the two when they faced scrutiny.

“We can’t just accept them for who they [Tatum and Brown] are. They nice…Why we even trying to wedge in the middle to separate the two…There is no team that ever won a championship who didn’t have a Batman and Robin.” Carmelo Anthony opined on his podcast, last year. “You have to, it’s impossible. We should be embracing Jaylen and Tatum for what they do.” It was not the only instance where the Syracuse legend backed the two.

How Carmelo Anthony continued supporting the duo during the Olympics debacle

For Tautm he was part of the squad of the 2024, but Brown’s exclusion did not sit right with many. Especially since Kawhi Leonard had to drop out due to injury concerns, JB was the choice of many. Instead, that opportunity was given to Celtics teammate Derrick White. Despite being the best player for Boston during the entire postseason, three of his teammates made the squad over him. Which led to him accusing Nike of blocking the spot.

“I think he should have got a shot. I think Paul should have got a shot. It is what it is like you can’t, for whatever reason it is, you can’t make it that obvious. For whatever reason, it is. They had to draw the line somewhere. Like this man bust his a–, he worked hard.” Carmelo Anthony was livid that the player received no reason for his exclusion. The lack of communication also agitated him during Tatum’s benching in the Paris Games.

“I am a fan of Jayson Tatum like it hurt me when he wasn’t playing. I understand why Tatum may have not played, I don’t agree with how they went about it.” The Knicks legend continued, “I’m cool with you saying he’s not gonna play. Just be honest. This is where we have a lack of communication.” Tatum is averaging 26.8 points per season, while JB has been dropping points at an average of 22.9. They have helped the Celtics to a 37-16 record and a second spot in the EC.