NBA Insider Explains Why Celtics Star Jayson Tatum Will Not Win the MVP Award This Season

Trikansh Kher | 22/02/2024
NBA Insider Explains Why Celtics Star Jayson Tatum Will Not Win the MVP Award This Season

Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics are well on track to win a Championship this year. Having added Kristaps Porzingis during the off-season, Boston has skyrocketed its chances of winning the chip. But ESPN analyst Brian Winhorst believes that even with Boston’s success, Jayson Tatum won’t be able to win the MVP this season.

Talking about Tatum, Winhorst further revealed,

“There are two things working against Tatum. One, even though the MVP is about this season, we know it’s not. It’s often about the narrative. He had a poor showing in the 2022 finals…he had several bad games, and they lost. Last year, in the Heat series he didn’t perform great. He had a miserable game 7… when they needed him the most…He has a couple of red marks on his resume.”

Apart from stating that the narrative is against the 5-time ALl-Star because of his failure in the playoffs, Winhorst provided his reasoning behind why the Boston guard can’t improve his MVP standing. The Celtics are already the best team in the East, and winning any more games would do very little to improve his odds of winning the award.

The ESPN analyst does have a valid argument here. A big part of Boston’s success this season has come from Tatum making sacrifices on the offensive end. As currently constructed, the Celtics system doesn’t require Tatum to go on scoring streaks, and in some sense even prevents it.

Regardless of the criticism, Tatum is having a great season. The Celtic wing is averaging 27.1 points, 8.3 boards, and 4.3 assists on 47% shooting. Compared to the field, Tatum’s numbers aren’t eye-popping, but his impact on the Celtics squad is profound.

Draymond believes Jayson Tatum needs to win a championship

Warriors forward Draymond Green has an interesting take on Tatum winning the MVP. According to the four-time champ, No 0 needs to win a Championship before he can think of taking the MVP home.

Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

Appearing on the 2024 TNT All-Star show, Draymond further revealed,

 “I don’t think JT will win his first MVP until he wins his first championship….He’s lost in the Finals, he’s lost in the Eastern Conference Finals, it’s like they don’t respect him quite like they should. I think it’s unfair because he’s been having MVP-type years.”

The MVP award has a lot to do with the rhetoric and it’s evident from the arguments being made against Tatum. The Celtics star has had an uncanny level of success in his six short years in the NBA. Even though he has managed to make it to the Eastern Conference Finals (2018, 2021, 2022, and 2023) and the Final in 2022, he has come up short when his team needed him the most.

A championship will surely help in changing the narrative around the Boston shooting guard, and this year is looking like the perfect chance for Tatum and Co. to take home the Larry Obrien.

Post Edited By: Hitesh Nigam
brian windhorst jason tatum

About the author

Trikansh Kher

Trikansh Kher is a writer at The Sports Rush. A lawyer by education, Trikansh has always been around sports. As a young track athlete Trikansh was introduced to basketball through 'street ball' mixtapes. He was hooked and it has been 'ball is life' ever since. Trikansh is a designer by profession, but couldn't keep away from basketball. A regular on the blacktop, his love for the game goes further than just hooping. If Trikansh isn't going through box scores for last night's game, you can find him in his studio working on his designs or playing squash at the local club.

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