“Doing More With Less”: Kendrick Perkins Argues Jaylen Brown Is Top MVP Candidate Over Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Before the 2025-2026 NBA season started, many assumed that the Boston Celtics would drop hard in the rankings. The C’s got surprisingly bounced by the Knicks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals last postseason, and in the process, lost Jayson Tatum to a torn Achilles injury. It seemed like a rough patch, but then Jaylen Brown reminded people who he was.

JB has been on a tear over the last month. He’s averaging 29.6 points per game and has Boston currently in No. 2 in the East, overtaking the Knicks, who had lived in that spot since December. And when taking into account that Boston no longer has Porzingis and their second option is Derrick White, it’s incredible what he’s been able to accomplish.

Kendrick Perkins agrees. In fact, Big Perk preached on the latest edition of the Road Trippin podcast that the four-time All-Star should be at the top of MVP voting. The panel revealed that he’s currently 4th behind SGA, Luka, and Cade Cunningham, but the former Celtics/Thunder star made his case for JB to be at the top.

“Jaylen Brown number one right now. I’ll tell you that much. He’s doing more with less,” stated Perk. “I’m not saying next Monday won’t be different but I’m saying as of right now, the fact that they’re No. 2, the fact that he’s averaging 30 PPG.” 

Richard Jefferson, as he’s accustomed to doing, pushed on the idea that Brown would still be behind Cade. Unfortunately, Kendrick isn’t the type of person to just let his idea die on a hill. “But he has a better roster. Jaylen Brown’s getting it done with less. Averaging 30, shooting 50% from the field, 37% from 3. And on top of that, he’s the best two-way player in the game right now.”

Perkins always tends to have a flair for the dramatics, but he has a point. Brown wasn’t even mentioned in the Player of the Month voting for December, losing out to Jalen Brunson on the Knicks and SGA in the West. JB even tweeted about it, claiming that he had a better month than both even though his stats were vaguely similar. The Knicks ended up winning the NBA Cup so perhaps that is what swayed voters.

Regardless, the more interesting angle might be that this stretch is reshaping how Brown is viewed league-wide, not just where he lands in an MVP ranking. For years he’s lived in the shadow of bigger names and louder storylines, often framed as the second guy or the replaceable star.

Now, with no safety net and no excuses, he’s quietly proving he can be the foundation of a contender. MVP votes may or may not come, but this run feels bigger than an award. It’s Brown rewriting his own résumé in real time.Dont’ forget, this is the guy who won Finals MVP in 2024. Not Jayson Tatum. It was Jaylen Brown.

About the author

Joseph Galizia

Joseph is a Las Vegas based actor and circus performer. For the last seven years he's had the pleasure of covering sports for multiple outlets, including the Lifestyles section of Sports Illustrated. In that time, he's conducted over 50 interviews with athletes, filmmakers, and company founders to further cement his footprint in the journalism world. He's excited to bring that skillset to the SportsRush, where he'll be covering the NBA news cycle.

Read More