Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics have enjoyed a strong start to the 2023-24 NBA season. Despite playing without costars Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis on Wednesday night, Tatum was able to help guide Boston to an impressive road win over the Philadelphia 76ers, pushing the Celtics' 2023-24 record to a lofty 9-3 in the process.

In fact, so impressive has been Tatum's performance thus far this season that he is even generating some early season MVP buzz, including from ESPN NBA analyst Jay Williams.

“Right now, I think it's between Jayson Tatum and Kevin Durant,” said Williams on ESPN's Get Up. “…Tatum's game has gone to a different level. He's doing a lot more pick and rolls, he's splitting picks and rolls. His game is just coming around… Boston's the best team in the league right now.”

Noticeably absent from Jay Williams' list was the reigning Finals MVP and whom many would consider to be the best player in the sport, Nikola Jokic, but the point still remains: Jayson Tatum is having a great season thus far. Tatum's stats have barely taken a dent despite the acquisition of Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday in the offseason, and the growth and maturity in his game has been more than evident so far on the young season.

Of course, no one doubted that the Celtics would be able to pile up regular season wins this year or that Tatum would generate eye-popping statistics–in order to take the next step, Tatum and his teammates will have to replicate this level of success in the playoffs.