Mark Jackson Breaks Down Why Jaylen Brown Deserved FMVP Over Jayson Tatum

Soon after Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown partnered to lead the Boston Celtics to a championship win, controversies started creeping into their dynamics. Despite the former being the designated talisman of the roster, the latter walked away with the Finals MVP award. While this shocked several fans, Mark Jackson certainly wasn’t one of them, prompting him to break down his stance.

The 59-year-old admitted the difficulty in choosing a clear winner in this debate. Yet, Jackson kept Brown slightly ahead in this race because of the latter’s impressive contributions on both ends of the floor. Additionally, he outlined how the Celtics star’s antics mitigated Luka Doncic’s on-court impact, taking the series away from the Dallas Mavericks’ hands.

Expressing his beliefs on the latest Come And Talk 2 Me episode, Jackson mentioned,

“I thought Jayson Tatum was spectacular.. But I thought overall, Jaylen Brown offensively and then taking the responsibility of disrupting Luka Doncic’s confidence and didn’t allow him to really take over and make an impact.. He was a difference-maker defensively.. That combined with what he did offensively gave him the nod over Tatum.”

This objective overview of the situation did justice to both the players. Tatum, for instance, lacked his offensive edge for most of the series. Yet, the 26-year-old made up for it with his overall gameplay, averaging 22.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 7.2 assists per game in the finals.

On a surface-level comparison, Brown registered a bleaker stat line of 20.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 5 assists per game in this series. However, the 27-year-old showcased his prowess by breaking the spirit of the opposition. At crucial junctures of the games, his contributions often shifted the momentum in his team’s favor, justifying his selection for the FMVP award.

Much to the Celtics supporters’ delight, this career-defining moment has failed to create a wall between the two superstars.

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown showered praise for each other

Throughout their seven years together, the duo has been faced against one another quite often. Despite this, they maintained a close bond, complementing each other on the court. Soon after the NBA Finals win, the world witnessed a glimpse of their relationship as the Celtics stars openly praised each other.

When Brown uploaded a celebratory Instagram post after the championship win, Tatum congratulated him for securing the FMVP award. Commenting, “MVP,” the latter publicly hyped his teammate.

“Jayson Tatum is jealous of Jaylen Brown” pic.twitter.com/EFbqmLySoL

— CelticsUnite (@CelticsUnite18) June 18, 2024

Brown returned the favor shortly after. He announced Tatum as the “greatest of all time,” garnering the attention of the NBA community.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Bleacher Report (@bleacherreport)

This highlighted how the duo never bothered themselves with the outside noise. Instead, they focused solely on winning the title, letting go of their agendas. In the end, this mindset paid off big time, etching both their names in NBA history.