(Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/Getty Images)
This year’s NBA Finals will feature a number of prominent stars, including Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown for the Boston Celtics and Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving for the Dallas Mavericks.
The Celtics are strongly favored to win the series, and there appears to be a clear favorite to win series MVP honors.
That favorite, according to BetMGM odds, right now is Tatum, per The Action Network App.
Who you betting for #NBAFinals MVP?
(odds via @BetMGM) pic.twitter.com/Tv0obXmFJW
— The Action Network App (@ActionApp) June 3, 2024
Tatum was a leading regular-season MVP candidate throughout the year, and he averaged 26.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, and a career-high 4.9 assists per game.
But so far in the playoffs, his shooting efficiency has fallen from 47.1 percent from the field and 37.6 percent from 3-point range in the regular season to 44.2 and 29.0 percent, respectively.
He has a history of playing poorly in big moments, such as when he shot just 36.7 percent overall during the 2022 NBA Finals when the Celtics lost in six games to the Golden State Warriors.
Last year, when the Celtics came back from a 3-0 deficit to force a seventh game of the Eastern Conference Finals versus the Miami Heat, he mustered just 14 points on 5-of-13 shooting in that Game 7 in Boston.
This upcoming championship series will be an opportunity for Tatum to quash the developing narrative that he doesn’t have that dog in him and instead cement himself as a champion.
But if he doesn’t do so, look for Doncic, who finished third in the regular-season MVP balloting, to likely walk away with the Finals MVP award.
Doncic’s production, unlike Tatum’s game, has held up in this year’s postseason, and he already has a reputation as a cold-blooded closer.
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