(Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM)
The Boston Celtics have the best record in the league again.
Nonetheless, Jayson Tatum only has the fifth-highest odds to win MVP.
That doesn’t make any sense if you were to ask Stephen A. Smith.
Talking on First Take, the renowned pundit stated that he believes Tatum should win the award now that Joel Embiid is no longer eligible because of injury.
“I got Jayson Tatum as the leading candidate for league MVP,” Smith said.
.@stephenasmith has Jayson Tatum LEADING the MVP race pic.twitter.com/utdiCDcqyH
— First Take (@FirstTake) February 15, 2024
He talked about all the things he could do with the ball in his hands and how he’d been the best player on the best team in the league despite not being the highest-paid player on the roster.
He thinks that winning should matter, which is why it’s about time Tatum gets the praise and recognition he deserves around the league.
That’s a valid point right there.
The Celtics are the most stacked team in the league, but there’s no one who could deny that Tatum is the leader and undisputed best player for Joe Mazzulla’s squad.
Tatum hasn’t gotten that much love for MVP despite posting MVP-Caliber numbers for quite a while now.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luka Doncic, and even Anthony Edwards have been mentioned in the MVP conversation more often than him this season, with Nikola Jokic also being a perennial threat to take the distinction home.
Tatum will have to keep his foot on the gas and keep up this level of play for the remainder of the campaign.
He could become the first Boston Celtic to be named MVP since the great Larry Bird did so in 1986, which is crazy to think.
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