Dwyane Wade might not be at the top of most Boston Celtics fans list of retired NBAers they want to hear from given the battles he used to have with Boston while playing for the Miami Heat. But the former Heatle had some kind words for Celtics star forward Jayson Tatum as he assessed the return of the St. Louis native from an Achilles tendon injury he suffered in the 2025 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals.
“That first game, you just want to see him, see if he’s there. And then he gave us the moments where you’re like, okay, I think he’s there. He had like 15/12/7,” said Wade in a recent video on his eponymous YouTube channel. “Solid game. Solid game. First game back.”
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“And then next game, then you had 20 on the road or something like that (…),” he added. But the former Boston nemesis also had kind words for Tatum’s costar on the wing as well. “Shout out to Jaylen Brown, though, holding it down.”
May 7, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) reacts after missing a pass from Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) against the New York Knicks in the second half during game two of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images
“Holding it down,” he continued. “Held it down, holding it down. We started talking about … we’re getting into this conversation about MVP.”
“He needs to be in conversation. He definitely needs to be. And this is the part about MVP that really gets everybody up in arms because no one knows what the criteria really are. When it comes to what it says, most valuable. What does that mean? … Because all great players are valuable to their team.”
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This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Dwyane Wade impressed by Jayson Tatum return, says Jaylen Brown in MVP race