Hall of Fame forward and NBA on NBC analyst Tracy McGrady endorsed Boston Celtics All-Star Jaylen Brown over Oklahoma City Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for this year's MVP award. Ahead of the 2025-26 Celtics campaign, Jayson Tatum's ruptured Achilles injury was just the beginning of a series of changes for the organization. In an attempt to get under the NBA tax apron, Boston offloaded its largest contracts outside of Brown and Tatum.

Brown is the only active Celtics player from the 2024 championship's core group, which for McGrady, is one of the many reasons he says Brown should be considered the frontrunner for MVP, he said, per NBA on NBC.

“People don't understand. You lose Pozingis. [Jayson Tatum] is out. Jrue Holiday is gone, and Al Horford is gone. That's 57% of your offense that is gone,” McGrady said. “And to come into a season where you got different players in the lineup, implent them in your system, you're tied for second in the East, and half of your duo is leading charge? He has to be frontrunner MVP for me.”

He finished with 33 points on 15-of-29 shooting, including a pair of threes, 11 rebounds, and three assists led the Celtics to a 110-100 win against the Dallas Mavericks on the road on Tuesday. It's another performance to strengthen All-Star Jaylen Brown's MVP case over Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for Tracy McGrady.

Brown is averaging a career-best 29.5 points on 48.6% shooting. He's also averaging a career-best in rebounds (7.0) and assists (4.8), while grabbing 1.0 steals per game.

Jaylen Brown talks about legacy after Celtics win

Article Continues Below

Celtics All-Star Jaylen Brown discussed his own legacy after a 107-79 win against the Bucks in the inaugural NBA Pioneers Classic. The atmosphere of being around Celtics legends who were honored throughout the night, had Brown thinking about the kind of legacy he could leave behind.

“As you continue to progress throughout the journey, legacy is something that you think about,” Brown said. “Legacy is something that stands out, and the best legacy that you can leave is winning.”

For Brown, that legacy extends beyond the basketball court.

“On top of winning, [legacy] is also how you affected the community,” Brown said. “Two things that I take pride in, being able to win basketball games, win a championship — hopefully more — and being able to affect my community in a positive way. That’s what you invest in. That's what I invest in as a player, that's my investment as a Boston Celtic and as a member of my family.”

In his second trip to the Finals, Brown won the 2024 NBA Finals MVP award after beating the Mavericks 4-1 to capture his first title.