Jayson Tatum has made it clear this season that he believes he is the best player in the NBA. With MVP conversations ramping up and multiple media pundits looking across the league at who to vote for, Tatum’s name has grown.
After the Boston Celtics defeated the Chicago Bulls 119-112, Tatum was asked how he would define an MVP.
“I don’t have the points per game that the other three or four guys will, but I think the voters are smart enough to understand the dynamic of our team.”
Jayson Tatum told The Athletic’s Jared Weiss
The top-end talent in the NBA is through the roof. At this point in the season, there still isn’t a clear-cut option to win the prestigious award. Regardless, Tatum is correct in assuming that he belongs in the mix.
The Celtics have the best record in the entire association in large part due to the play of Tatum. One of the biggest strikes against his MVP resume would be his numbers not being as high as a player like Nikola Jokic or Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Moreover, both of those guys are ahead of the 25-year-old in MVP odds.
“Essentially having to do less scoring maybe on certain nights but still impact the game in a lot of ways to kind of ensure that we win every single night.”
Jayson Tatum
The Celtics surrounding cast around Tatum undoubtedly takes away some opportunities for him to improve his stats. However, the winning the Celtics have seen makes it a worthy tradeoff.
Whether Tatum winds up winning MVP this season or not remains to be seen. With the talent ahead on his roster, it would likely take him going on the best streak of his career to get the job done. Ultimately the MVP would mean nothing to Tatum if the Celtics don’t wind up winning a championship.
