Boston Celtics star Al Horford’s sister, Anna Horford, has often attracted the attention of NBA fans for her bold takes on social media. In line with her loyalty to her brother’s team, the Celtics fan called out the Kia MVP ladder for snubbing Jayson Tatum for yet another season.
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She shared a post from NBA TV on X that reported Victor Wembanyama breaking into the top five of the MVP ladder. The graphic in the post listed the top five candidates on the ladder along with Wemby, with Nikola Jokic leading the pack, followed by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Tatum occupied the fourth spot, which clearly didn’t sit well with Anna.
She shared the post to call out the selection process that has been ignoring JT’s performances for two years in a row. “Only reason Jayson [Tatum] isn’t #1 is because you guys are f*cking haters,” she quoted while reposting.
Tatum has been remarkable this season in spearheading the Celtics’ effort to retain their NBA title. He’s averaging 28.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 5.6 assists per game on a 29-9 Boston team that is currently second in the Eastern Conference.
Those are clearly MVP-worthy numbers on a team that won the Championship last year. So it would seem that Anna’s criticism is very warranted. However, Nikola Jokic has emerged as the favorite to deny Tatum his maiden league MVP title this year as well.
Only reason Jayson isn’t #1 is because you guys are f*cking haters. https://t.co/TaZFuSMIVq
— Anna Horford (@AnnaHorford) January 4, 2025
The Denver Nuggets star is the sole reason why his team is afloat in a heavily stacked Western Conference. In addition to that, the Joker is averaging historic numbers in every single category, taking voter fatigue out of the equation this year as well.
As Kirk Goldsberry pointed out in Bill Simmons’ podcast, ” [Jokic is] currently averaging more points [30.7] per game than Shaq ever did in his career, more rebounds [13] per game than Tim Duncan ever did in his entire career. He is averaging more assists [9.7] per game than Chris Paul has ever done in his entire career. He’s making 49% of his threes, which is [the best in the league]. This is insanity.”
So Jokic’s MVP case is not really a matter of favoritism. The three-time MVP is, however, facing close competition from Gilgeous-Alexander, who has better numbers than Tatum as well (31.2 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 6.1 apg). The Oklahoma City Thunder, which is by no means is as deep a team as the Celtics, are the best team in the West. Therefore, SGA has better prospects on paper than JT.
The Nuggets have also taken advantage of Luka Doncic’s injury and the Dallas Mavericks’ subsequent slump to switch places with them. Their fourth spot in the West further strengthens Jokic’s MVP case.
That being said, Tatum certainly should be the third man in the race, especially as the reigning 2024 NBA Champion. Anna Horford’s criticism makes sense when we consider the fact that the Celtics star wasn’t a top choice despite the Boston side dominating the league last year.
To be fair to the NBA, Donovan Mitchell is also not on the list despite the Cleveland Cavaliers being the best team in the league this season. But Tatum is probably not worried about the MVP race.
He had declared after losing out on the 2024 Finals MVP race that he is not interested in individual accolades. So the best way JT can respond to the MVP snub is by showing up for the Cs in the postseason.
