What did Shaquille O'Neal say to Jaylen Brown? Hall of Famer confuses Celtics star with Kobe Bryant comparison

Much has been made about Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum in recent weeks, with both talents comfortable with dovetailing between Batman and Robin for the Celtics in their march to the NBA Finals.

Brown has tended to be the higher-volume scorer as of late, averaging more points (27.0) than Tatum (25.8) in the past two rounds. Recency bias is a powerful elixir, particularly to those lost in the mire that is NBA Twitter. Brown's recent exploits have captivated a great many, prompting them to claim that Brown, not Tatum, is the best player in Boston green.

Following the Celtics' Game 2 win over the Mavericks, a familiar face joined Brown on NBA TV's table to talk shop: former Boston "great" (and Inside the NBA co-host) Shaquille O'Neal. O'Neal knows a thing or two about sharing the spotlight with a fellow superstar; he did it with Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles and Dwyane Wade in Miami.

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O'Neal offered some guidance to Brown while the two were sitting at the desk, albeit in a rather roundabout way. Here's what you need to know about O'Neal's comments towards one of Boston's superstars, Jaylen Brown.

What did Shaquille O'Neal say to Jaylen Brown?

O'Neal offered some tips to Brown during his latest appearance on NBA TV, offering his views on the debate that has come to define NBA Twitter in recent weeks: who is better, Brown or Tatum?

He just happened to do so in perhaps the most convoluted way possible, cloaking his suggestion in all the mystique one would expect out of the Big Shamrock.

Shaq: "Do not get fixated on useless titles. Do what you gotta do."@MattWinerTV: "That made sense to you?"

Jaylen: "No."

Shaq: "Okay well let me break it down... It don't matter who the man is!"

Shaq had to break down his G-14 classification to JB 🤣😭 pic.twitter.com/YX05XKQDbd

— NBA TV (@NBATV) June 10, 2024

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"Jaylen, I don't have a question. But I'm going to give you some G-14 classification information, because this will be the last time you see me. It's a riddle; do not get fixated on useless titles. Do what you gotta do. Doesn't matter who's who, or they say who's what. It ain't time for all that right now. Do what you gotta do and get it done," O'Neal counseled Brown.

The messaging didn't quite hit Brown, at least not initially. Co-host Matt Winer sensed it, handing Brown an opportunity to ask for some clarification. O'Neal responded in kind, citing his experiences with Bryant as a reason for Brown to ignore the noise and focus on getting gold with Boston.

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"They're trying to separate you and your guy [Jayson Tatum] by saying who's better," O'Neal added. "Don't worry about useless titles, it don't matter who the man is. Kobe's the man, Shaq's the man, it don't matter. I'm getting my 40, Kobe's getting his 39, let's go win a championship."

O'Neal's comments didn't come out of left field. Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd crowned Brown as Boston's best player in the lead-up to Game 2, bemusing some and irritating others within the Boston camp.

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In the end, Kidd's endorsement of Brown did little to throw the C's off course; fueled by Brown, Tatum, Jrue Holiday and Derrick White, Boston claimed a 105-98 win to move another game closer to NBA immortality. Brown and Tatum had their fingerprints all over the showcase, with Brown dropping 21 points, seven assists and four rebounds on a 8-of-15 shooting and Tatum falling one rebound shy of a triple-double.

Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant playoff stats

O'Neal and Bryant captured plenty of honors during their time in Tinseltown, combining to lead the Lakers to three straight NBA titles. Both stars played pivotal roles, with O'Neal serving as the dominant paint presence who imposed his will against the weary willows he competed against and Bryant offering guile and craft in the backcourt.

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O'Neal was widely viewed as the more important figure in Los Angeles' success. That was bore out in his accolades as well; O'Neal took home Finals MVP in all three championship runs.

At first glance, the stats seem to reveal a similar sentiment. In 119 playoff games with one another, O'Neal averaged more points than the Black Mamba.

There's more to be gleamed in the margins, however. For starters, by the time O'Neal arrived in the City of Angels, he was a fully-fledged supernova who had already garnered MVP votes in each of his first four seasons in the league. Meanwhile, Bryant was far from his pinnacle, where he would average upwards of 30 points per night. He also had his fair share of offensive outbursts — take his 36 and 48-point explosions to vanquish the Kings in the 2001 Western Conference semifinals or the 45-point masterclass he dropped on the Spurs in the very next round.

Here's a closer look at O'Neal and Bryant's playoff numbers when they played with one another:

Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum playoff stats

Over the course of their playoff careers alongside one another, Tatum has been a more productive player than Brown. As of late, though, Brown has closed the gap as a scorer. Tatum, on the other hand, has appeared to become a more prolific playmaker, trading baskets for assists as Boston climbs up the basketball totem pole.

Here's a look at the two J's stats during this season's playoff run so far:

Did Shaquille O'Neal play for the Celtics?

O'Neal did, in fact, play for the Celtics, spending his final season in the league in Beantown. He only played 37 games with the franchise before hanging up his sneakers. As a 38-year old participating in his 18th NBA season, he was fairly effective, averaging 9.2 points and 4.8 rebounds in just 20.3 minutes of action per night.