Jayson Tatum spoke publicly for the first time Tuesday night about the trade of longtime Boston Celtics running mate Jaylen Brown.

“It’s tough,” Tatum said during a live appearance to promote his new children’s book. “But it just makes you appreciate the moments and time that we had. Obviously, it came to an abrupt ending, but it doesn’t mean that it wasn’t super successful. Great years, obviously, that he gave to the city and to the organization.”

Last Wednesday, the Celtics agreed to trade Brown to the rival Philadelphia 76ers for veteran wing Paul George, two first-round draft picks (2028 and 2031) and two second-round picks (2028 and 2030). The deal became official Monday, ending the partnership of Brown and Tatum — two of the NBA’s premier players whose ascensions had been intertwined since they were drafted by Boston in 2016 and 2017, respectively.

“To be honest, it’s weird,” Tatum said. “You play on a team with a guy for nine years. I was fortunate enough to go to the finals with him twice, and win a championship, and push each other to be the players that we are today.”

Jayson Tatum spoke at length about his reaction to the Jaylen Brown trade today:

“The NBA is an incredible business; it’s an incredible job, but there are some downsides to the business and moments like this, where you just kind of feel like you’re going to be on the team with… https://t.co/OBb4M05rE8 pic.twitter.com/7j2tXMnjIC

— Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzell) July 8, 2026

Brown was drafted third in 2016, with Tatum following a year later at the same draft slot. Together, the duo spearheaded one of the most successful eras in recent Celtics history. The Celtics averaged 53 wins per season during that span, making five Eastern Conference finals and winning in one of their two NBA Finals appearances (2024).

The two stars rose in tandem, with 11 All-Star selections and seven All-NBA honors between them. Tatum has finished in the top five in MVP voting twice, while Brown earned Finals MVP in 2024.

On Monday, Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens explained that the move was driven by a foundational desire for “optionality,” noting the difficulty in building a roster with Tatum counting $58.4 million and Brown $57.7 million against the salary cap in 2026-27.

“I think the biggest thing is, it’s (George), plus the picks, plus the optionality moving forward,” Stevens said. “Paul’s contract is shorter.”

The decision came despite Brown coming off the best season of his career. While Tatum missed all but 16 games of the regular season recovering from a torn Achilles suffered during the 2025 playoffs, Brown averaged career highs of 28.7 points and 5.1 assists and tied a career high with 6.9 rebounds. His play helped lead Boston to the No. 2 seed in the East, where the Celtics surged to a 3-1 first-round series lead over the 76ers before surrendering it in seven games.

“The NBA is an incredible business,” Tatum said. “It’s an incredible job, but there are some downsides to the business and moments like this, where you just kind of feel like you’re going to be on the team with somebody, because that’s all you know.

“Then it’s just like, one day you find out that they’re no longer on your team anymore. And we’re all humans. We feel all those emotions.”

One person who felt those emotions fully was Brown. The 29-year-old took to a Twitch livestream a day after the trade was announced, saying he “wasn’t thrilled with the amount of respect that was shown during this process,” and that “there was a bit of a lack of respect.”

Now the two will square off representing opposite sides of one of the NBA’s oldest, fiercest rivalries. Tatum and Brown teamed up to eliminate the 76ers from the playoffs three times.

Now Brown wears Philadelphia blue and red, and Tatum will lead the Celtics against him. Still, Tatum made clear Tuesday night that while he feels the weight of losing his longtime teammate, he’s ready to embrace the next chapter.

Boston’s newcomers are highlighted by George, 36, a six-time All-NBA selection. The Celtics also added veterans Mike Conley and Mitchell Robinson.

“You want to welcome those guys,” Tatum said. “Accept them, and move forward with them.”

The knockout rounds are where premium players truly earn their price tags. With fewer fixtures, less room for error and every match carrying huge importance, investing in proven world-class talent becomes more important than ever. 

While differentials can still provide rank gains, premium assets offer the combination of security, explosive potential and captaincy appeal that can define your World Cup Fantasy campaign. 

We did a piece on the best premiums during the group stages, and this will be an update of that, taking into account fixtures, form and differential status.

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10. Bukayo Saka, England

Bukayo Saka ($9.5m) has been easing himself back in from injury but now seems to be approaching full match fitness. The fixture against Norway could be one where he gets some joy, and although he hasn’t produced what we know he can, he no doubt still has a haul in him. 

Also, he is one of the few premium players who is a huge differential and still under five per cent owned, which means he qualifies for the scouting bonus. 

Norway may prove stubborn, but England should still create enough opportunities for Saka to deliver. His combination of goals, assists and bonus-point potential makes him a huge upside option, although, admittedly, a risky one.

Bukayo Saka might prove the ultimate risk-or-reward pick (Buda Mendes/Getty Images)

9. Lamine Yamal, Spain

Similar to Saka, Spain’s young superstar has also had a quiet tournament by his own high standards, and it’s a similar story with him being eased into the team after injury. 

A quarter-final against Belgium means Spain are strong favourites to progress, and despite his lacklustre campaign so far, he is still the best attacker for his country. 

The 18-year-old played his first 90 minutes of the tournament in the 1-0 win over Portugal, so his fitness is not an issue anymore. Surely it’s only a matter of time before he hits form again.

8. Erling Haaland, Norway

Including Erling Haaland ($10.5m) may surprise some managers given Norway’s difficult fixture against England. However, fantasy football is ultimately about backing elite players capable of producing moments of brilliance — and he has shown this tournament that he can score against anyone. 

He already has seven goals from the 11 that Norway have scored while he’s been on the pitch and is probably the biggest talisman we have left in the World Cup. If Norway manage to get anything from this game, there is no doubt Haaland will be the catalyst. 

While his fixture lowers his immediate appeal, that is countered by being arguably the best finisher in world football. 

7. Mikel Oyarzabal, Spain

Mikel Oyarzabal ($8.1m) remains one of the safest routes into Spain’s attack, and he is also the focal point, playing as the No 9. He has four goals and an assist and will be one of the favourites to score in the quarter-finals given the fixture and the quality of Spain’s team. 

His slightly lower ownership compared to other premiums could also make him an attractive differential. Oyarzabal is only 12.5 per cent owned at the time of writing.

Although he doesn’t qualify for the scouting bonus, he is still very much a differential. So for those chasing, he is a fine option.

6. Ousmane Dembele, France

Ousmane Dembele ($10.0m) is also nailed to start, and although he doesn’t provide the minutes security of Michael Olise and Kylian Mbappe, he has a higher goal threat than the former. 

He has already proven his worth with a hat-trick against Norway during the group stages and has two assists to his name. 

Mbappe, Olise and Dembele are undoubtedly the best attacking trio of this tournament, and all three have huge upside. Owning at least two of them seems wise, especially since they are favourites to win the World Cup.

Managers chasing rank may even prefer to captain Dembele over Mbappe.

5. Michael Olise, France

Michael Olise ($9.5m) has been one of France’s standout performers throughout the tournament. His creativity has been exceptional, and he genuine goal threat too.

He leads in assists (five), and he has been quite unfortunate not to have registered a few goals. Olise’s involvement in almost every dangerous attack keeps him firmly among the premium conversation, and along with Mbappe, he is one of France’s most nailed attackers. 

If France score, there is a high chance he will be involved one way or another.

4. Jude Bellingham, England

Bellingham continues to prove why he is one of the most complete midfielders in world football. 

He has lived up to the billing time and again on the big stage, and his most recent brace against Mexico was the latest example. He now has four goals and one assist in this World Cup.

He regularly arrives late into the penalty area, creates chances for team-mates and is one of the players who is very likely to play every single minute even if the game goes into extra time. 

Facing Norway only strengthens his appeal. Managers looking for a premium midfielder with both consistency and explosive potential should have Bellingham near the top of their shortlist.

Jude Bellingham was immense for England at the Azteca (Charlotte Wilson/Getty Images)

3. Lionel Messi, Argentina 

Few players are more reliable in tournament football than Lionel Messi. 

Argentina’s quarter-final meeting with Switzerland is far from straightforward, but the overall route through the draw remains favourable compared to several other tournament heavyweights. 

Messi, even at the age of 39, continues to dominate Argentina’s attacking play, taking set pieces, penalties and creating chances too. He is also in contention for the Golden Boot, and Argentina’s side of the draw means they have a great chance of going further in the tournament.

While he may be in the twilight of his career, Messi’s Fantasy ceiling remains among the highest in the game.

2. Harry Kane, England

England have one of the most appealing quarter-final fixtures against Norway, and they have shown they are an attacking force. 

Harry Kane ($10.5m) has been sublime this tournament with six goals and will have the Golden Boot in mind.

The England captain has been in outstanding form, consistently producing attacking returns while remaining the focal point of almost every attack. Whether it’s penalties, link-up play or finishing inside the box, Kane offers multiple routes to points every single match. 

England are one of the favourites now and have a fairly favourable bracket to make it to the final.

1. Kylian Mbappé, France

No games are easy at this stage of the tournament, but France will still be heavy favourites against a tricky Morocco side. Kylian Mbappe (£10.5m) has the ability to produce attacking returns against any opposition and remains France’s biggest goal threat by some distance. 

He is the joint-leading scorer at the moment with seven goals and the favourite to get the Golden Boot, according to the markets.

France have looked the best team at the World Cup, and unsurprisingly they are also the favourites to win the tournament. 

Mbappe is nailed to start, will play the whole game and is also on penalties. He is a no-brainer pick.

England are finally out of what they have been calling the “grind” part of the World Cup.

That was the name given internally to the last week, an intense period which saw them having to fly from Kansas City to Atlanta to face the Democratic Republic of Congo; fly back; spend two nights back in Kansas City; and then fly to Mexico City to take on the co-hosts in the game of their lives.

The internal approach for managing the longest World Cup that has ever been staged has been to break the tournament down into blocks. And this block — the last 32 and last 16 games — was seen as perhaps the most physically tiring given the short turnarounds and the travel involved.

By the time England landed back in Kansas City on Monday morning, they were tired but satisfied in having completed this phase of their mission, with a place in the quarter-finals. And their focus immediately shifted to how to recover from their exertions in the Estadio Azteca. 

This week will be quieter. England do not play Norway until Saturday, meaning they have four days back in Kansas City before they have to depart for Miami.

Monday was designated as a recovery day for players, which allowed the squad to get over the huge physical effort made after playing on Sunday night. The players looked utterly exhausted by the end of the Mexico game, many collapsing onto the pitch at the end, drained by the work they had put in to get England over the line. They had played around 45 minutes with 10 men after Jarell Quansah’s sending-off and were also having to deal with the challenge of playing at altitude.  

All tournament England have been talking about “pounding the rock”, the importance of keeping going, working away to keep trying to create chances, knowing that with enough patient persistence the rewards will come. England did not break down Panama until 62 minutes were gone. They did not score against DR Congo until 75. After that game, Kane used that “pounding the rock” phrase, but after defending deep and resolutely through the second half in Mexico, there was a twist: Tuchel told the players that this time they had been the rock.

The FA always knew that this World Cup would hinge on their recovery strategy, especially given the demands of playing eight games across 33 days and the travel requirements — which they did not experience in Qatar — of playing across multiple countries and timezones.

The recovery strategy has in part been built on an extensive monitoring regime for the players. The players’ loads have been carefully monitored through the season, and once they arrived in the U.S. The FA organised informal friendlies prior to the tournament against Miami FC and Sporting Kansas City to make sure that non-starters were getting extra game time.

Every morning when the players walk downstairs in the England team hotel, they weigh themselves and enter the result onto an iPad. (Monitoring is a big part of being in camp, with the players all wearing Whoop watches and subjected to sweat tests by staff.) There is also a screen that tells them what they should be eating that day, including how many portions of protein and carbohydrates they need.

On a recovery day — the day after a game — that will be accompanied by information about their energy expenditure from the game, their total distance covered, their distances of high-speed runs and sprints. The emphasis is on re-energising their body so that they can go again, with recommendations to have turmeric and ginger to manage exercise-induced inflammation, and omega-3 fish oil.

England have bikes set up by the side of their training pitch (Richard Pelham/Getty Images)

After Monday’s recovery day, the players were given Tuesday off entirely (generally two days after a game is the day when players are the most fatigued). The intense schedule in recent weeks — they played four games in 13 days — meant that time off was limited. The day and a half off that they enjoyed after the Croatia game on June 17 must feel a long time away now.

But the players were free on Tuesday to see their families, play golf, explore Kansas City or just relax at the hotel. England’s base in a peaceful suburb — with a padel court nearby — offers plenty of options.

Many players appreciate the sense of quiet and calm out here. Declan Rice explained last week how much he has enjoyed it, and the sense of anonymity. “When I am in Kansas, it’s the peaceful side of it that’s really, really nice,” he said. “Just being able to walk around and enjoy my time off. We’ve been really enjoying it.” Rice is now hugely famous in London, but he appreciates the fact he can walk around freely, in a way that is no longer as possible at home.

The hope is that when England resume training on Wednesday, and start their planning for Norway, the players will be as recharged as they can be, physically and mentally. Now comes the next block of the tournament.