BOSTON — The Boston Celtics of today aren't exactly known for their trash talk. So, when Celtics star Jayson Tatum was asked who participated in that kind of in-game teasing the most, he paused for a bit to think. He then provided Celtics teammate Derrick White — who was hosting "The White Noise Podcast" with Tatum on as his special guest — with a surprising name: Ron Harper Jr.
When White poses this question to other Celtics, they usually respond with guys like point guard Payton Pritchard or star guard Jaylen Brown. However, Tatum said it was Harper Jr., who spent his first official year with the Celtics this season and played well enough to earn himself a standard contract.
Payton Pritchard and Jaylen Brown are usually called the biggest trash talkers on the Celtics, but Jayson Tatum had a different answer:“I would say probably Ron (Harper Jr.)…He always got something to say.”“He’s in the know…The game just ended and he’s like, ‘Yo, did you… pic.twitter.com/CdAStF1WWk
"We don't really have trash talkers on our team, but Ron always has something to say," Tatum explained.
White sounded surprised by Tatum's answer, but he liked it before discussing how Harper Jr. is very knowledgeable about sports (which probably gives him some extra ammo to use against his teammates).
"Ron's always in the know," White said. "The game just ended and he’s like, ‘Yo, did you see Geno (Auriemma) and Dawn Staley?’ I’m like, ‘We were just playing, how do you already know this?’”
The postgame beef between college head coaches Geno Auriemma and Dawn Staley occurred on April 3, so Harper Jr. would've brought that up after the Celtics just got finished demolishing the Milwaukee Bucks, 133-101, that same night.
Harper Jr. earned 5 minutes in that blowout win, which was almost the same amount of playing time he received during another beatdown on Sunday afternoon, when the Celtics crushed the Philadelphia 76ers 123-91 in Game 1 of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs.
The 26-year-old cashed both of his shot attempts and finished his postseason debut with 5 points in 4 minutes. The 2025-26 campaign also marked Harper Jr.'s first time playing over 10 games in a season and featured his first career start in the NBA.
"That's something that I dreamed of for a while," Harper Jr. said in the locker room following the final contest of the regular season on April 12. "Thinking about like where I came from and how the year was looking, I definitely didn't think this would be the year when I start a game."
Coincidentally, Harper Jr. is the only player on the injury report for the Celtics ahead of Game 2 on Tuesday night. But, in spite of his right ankle sprain, he's listed as probable and will likely give it a go at TD Garden.
This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: The biggest trash talker on the Celtics is somebody you wouldn't expect, according to Jayson Tatum