Jayson Tatum just went viral for latest move and Jaylen Brown laughed

If there’s one thing fans can always count on Jayson Tatum for (besides his elite play on the basketball court), it’s that his hair is going to look sharp. Throughout the Boston Celtics star’s career, he’s taken great pride in his cut.

This weekend, fans got the first glimpse of his latest style. Tatum, who was a groomsman at Bradley Beal’s wedding, was pictured rocking braids at the event. The photo went viral online, as did his Celtics teammate, Jaylen Brown’s, reaction to his new hairstyle.

"JT got braids,” Brown questioned during a stream on Twitch. “Hell nah. JT just doing anything now." 

If there’s anyone on the Cs who should be the connoisseur of braids, it’s Brown. He’s made the style his signature look over the past couple of seasons, and perhaps doesn’t want Tatum intruding on his turf.

Would braids unlock another level for Jayson Tatum?

Unfortunately, it’s unlikely that Tatum will take the floor wearing braids at this point. He’s expected to miss the entire 2025-26 season with a ruptured Achilles tendon. So, it’s going to be quite a while before he’s back on the parquet.

However, if he were to play with the braids, then, of course, we’d have to analyze what they could do for his game.

For example, when JT arrived in Las Vegas with a buzz cut to ramp up for the Olympics with Team USA last summer, some held out hope that ditching his signature curls would restore his jumpshot.

In his first few seasons in the NBA, Tatum always ran with a buzz cut and shot the ball well. In three campaigns with short hair, he shot 43.4%, 37.3%, and 40.3% from beyond the arc. Over the past five years, in which he'd let the curls grow out, he wasn’t as efficient. Tatum knocked down 38.6%, 35.3%, 35.0%, 37.6%, and 34.3% of his attempts from distance.

Though his efficiency dipped, there's no doubt that Tatum performed at the highest level during the curls era. In that span, the former No. 3 overall pick was named to five All-Star teams, four All-NBA First Teams, made three Eastern Conference Finals, two NBA Finals, and managed to win his only NBA Championship in 2024.

Not to mention that he set his career-high in scoring, which tied Larry Bird’s franchise record, when he poured in 60 points against the San Antonio Spurs back in 2021.

All the haircut splits are in good fun, but it would be pretty funny if Tatum wore braids for a season and won his first MVP.