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The Boston Celtics have the best record in the league.
Even so, no one seems to be talking about Jayson Tatum as a legitimate MVP candidate.
Tatum is averaging almost 28 points per game to go along with over eight rebounds and almost five assists, and usually, the best player on the best team has a strong case for MVP.
This doesn’t seem to be the case with Tatum, and Brian Windhorst explained why.
Talking on ESPN’s First Take, Windhorst explained that as much as the MVP is supposed to be about the ongoing season, narratives are also huge for voters.
.@WindhorstESPN explains why he doesn’t see Jayson Tatum winning MVP pic.twitter.com/DPHKsLaBAA
— First Take (@FirstTake) February 22, 2024
Considering that Tatum had a subpar performance in the NBA Finals two years ago and how he underperformed in the playoffs last season, it’s hard to go against that kind of recency bias.
He argues that the Celtics have actually been better because he hasn’t needed to do all the heavy lifting on offense.
On top of that, with the Celtics in first place already, it’s not like he can take them any higher in the Eastern Conference right now.
Needless to say, that all may sound unfair, but it’s actually quite accurate.
Unfortunately, it seems like the Celtics’ decades-long MVP drought will continue for at least another season, barring a major surprise, a string of injuries, or Tatum going on a historical run until the end of the season.
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