Prior to the 2023-24 season, Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum had checked off most of the boxes necessary to earn superstar status. However, he still wasn't an NBA champion, and that might've been held against him in the 2024 MVP race.
The five-time All-Star led the C's in scoring while averaging 26.9 points per game on 47.1% shooting from the floor, his highest conversion rate since his rookie season. Boston ended up with the best overall record in the league during a historic regular season, yet that wasn't enough for Tatum to earn true MVP consideration.
Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic won his third MVP instead—and rightfully so. But Tatum didn't even finish top five in voting despite helping his team dominate the Eastern Conference with per-game marks of 8.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists (career-high), and one steal.
During the All-Star break, Golden State Warriors veteran Draymond Green offered his take on why Tatum was getting overlooked, via TNT's All-Star Weekend broadcast.
“I don't think JT will win his first MVP until he wins his first championship. He's almost being punished for having so much success as a team early in his career,” Green revealed. “Now it's almost like you get on this clock that no one talks about but you're on this clock. He's lost in the Finals, he's lost in the Eastern Conference Finals, it's like they don't respect him quite like they should. I think it's unfair because he's been having MVP-type years.”
Well, Tatum has finally crossed out a major accomplishment on his superstar to-do list: becoming an NBA champion. Although he didn't win Finals MVP, he led the Celtics in points, rebounds, and assists during the 2024 playoffs. That feat has only been achieved by five other players in league history.
Fellow 2024 All-Star Trae Young said before the postseason started that Tatum would be a true contender for MVP next season if he won it all.
“He knows if he wins a championship, he's going to be the front-runner MVP next year,” Young said on his “From the Point” podcast, via Bleacher Report.
The Atlanta Hawks star said that back in April, and he didn't change his stance after Tatum lifted the Larry O'Brien in June.
“When I talked to Jay, he knew what he needed to do. He just went out there and did it. He didn't care about getting the regular season MVP. He wanted to win a championship,” Young stated. “I'm happy for him. He went out there and did it. He knew that this was his best team that he's had and had to take advantage of it.”
Following the Celtics' domination of the 2024 NBA Finals, which saw them defeat the Dallas Mavericks in five games, Tatum posed a simple question for his critics:
Young thinks Tatum's doubters are going to have to acknowledge the St. Louis native's success, whether they like it or not.
“Looking forward, people are probably gonna give him more credit,” Young predicted. “That's the best part about being a champion. All this stuff that they doubt about you, now you can throw it back in their face.”
What's the 2024-25 NBA MVP race look like?
The 2024-25 NBA season is still months away, but the betting odds are already out there for MVP.
According to Vegas Insider, Jokic and Mavs star Luka Doncic are tied for first, with Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in second alongside former MVP Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers and two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks.
In third is Tatum, who holds +1500 odds.
While there's no denying that Boston's homegrown star wants MVP, he's also hungry for another ring. Tatum knows that no matter what he does and what the Green Team wins, there'll always be skeptics.
“But you know, you guys will probably say we didn't play anybody to get here,” he told the media ahead of Game 4 of the Finals. “So we'll just have to do it again next year.”
If Tatum puts together an even better regular season and has the C's on track for another title, it'll be nearly impossible to keep him out of the MVP conversation.
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