Jayson Tatum, the star player of the Boston Celtics, has recently been underlined as a strong contender for the NBA’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) award.
“Apparently us losing the Finals two years ago affects what people think of me now, so I guess I’ve got some ground to make up.”
– Jayson Tatum on the MVP race
(Via @TalkBasket ) pic.twitter.com/Vd1I3xgXTO
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) February 18, 2024
Pundits such as Kendrick Perkins and Stephen A. Smith have brought Tatum into the limelight as the frontrunner.
Over the past years, Tatum’s NBA journey has blossomed; he was named first-team All-NBA twice, attaining sixth and fourth positions in the MVP votes in 2021-22 and 2022 seasons, respectively.
Exemplifying his winning spirit, this season, Tatum has led the Celtics to an enviable league-record of 43-12.
He stood out with 27.1 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per match- the highest in his team.
However, no clear favorite has emerged for the MVP award so far. The race got tougher with last year’s winner, Joel Embiid, being side-lined due to a meniscus injury.
As notable voices back Tatum, his chance seems no less than any other contender’s.
Despite the excitement and support surrounding his MVP candidacy, Tatum does not miss the bigger picture.
He strikes a balance between his personal commendations and the team’s success. He emphasizes that his goal remains the team’s performance over any individual accolade.
“Individual awards are important. I’m not going to say that they’re not,” Tatum told reporters when asked if it’s important to win MVP during All-Star Media Day on Saturday. “Everybody wants to win a championship, but you want to be rewarded for the work that you put in, for the things that you go out there and do on the court.
“They have individual awards for a reason. As a competitor, as a player, you grew up watching your favorite players winning MVP and first-team All-NBA and all that.”
Despite his remarkable track record, Tatum’s MVP win still remains a long shot with +300 odds on DraftKings and a sixth-place standing in ESPN’s MVP straw poll.
While desirous of the MVP honor, Tatum admits he wouldn’t risk detracting from his team’s performance to secure individual glory. He expressed that external factors influencing the award are beyond his control.
“Of course, you want to win those things,” Tatum said. “But you can’t take precedent over playing the right way and doing the things that you have to do in order for your team to essentially be the best team in the league and have a chance to win a championship.
“Would I love to win? Yes. But apparently us losing the Finals two years ago affects what people think of me now, so I guess I’ve got some ground to make up. Everybody who has a vote, they vote — the criteria is different. Everybody thinks differently. Right, wrong, or indifferent, it is what it is. You can’t tell people what they should look for when they vote. That’s the beauty of it.”
Currently, the MVP campaign takes a brief pause, as NBA enters the All-Star break with Tatum participating in his fifth game.
Besides, he is potentially the next face of the NBA, an honorable position occupied by LeBron James for over a decade.
Asked about his fantasy of being the NBA commissioner for a day, Tatum came up with a firm stance.
“If you get a tech for overreacting to a call, and you were right — like if they go back and look, the coaches do the challenge and they overturn the call, that tech should be rescinded,” said Tatum, who’s tied for the eighth-most technicals in the league this season. “You should get your money back.”
