On Monday morning's episode of First Take, ESPN's Stephen A. Smith yelled that Boston Celtics' forward Jayson Tatum is currently atop his MVP ballot, followed by Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic. Stephen A. went on to justify both his selection and Tatum's candidacy using the tried and true “best player on the best team” rationale which is often cited as the reason why a specific player received a media member's MVP vote. And in this instance, no matter what you think of Stephen A's line of thinking or Jayson Tatum's place in the league's hierarchy of stars, Tatum's candidacy is indisputable.
“The best player on the best team. 27 points a night… Jayson Tatum can’t be ignored.”
Stephen A. Smith makes the case for JT’s MVP candidacy 🗣️
(via @FirstTake)pic.twitter.com/zSXLmY2fXm
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) February 26, 2024
“The best player on the best team. You're the number one option, everybody's watching you,” Stephen A exclaimed. “Everybody's coming at you every single night. You're the number one team by six games. Come on now, I can't ignore that.”
No, Jayson Tatum's MVP candidacy should not be ignored, and depending on how things play out over the course of the final 25-or-so games of the regular season for Boston, Tatum, and the rest of the multiple qualified MVP candidates around the league, Tatum could very well end the season as the consensus favorite to take home the award for the first time. But to be honest, that would require the Celtics continuing to roll, other MVP candidates slipping, and Tatum to go on a tear over the last month and a half of the season, because right now, the only clear advantage he has over the rest of the top contenders to win MVP is that Tatum can be called, “the best player on the best team.”
Jayson Tatum – 26.9 points, 8.5 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 48/36/82 shooting splits, 22.2 PER, 54 games played (43-11 record)
Nikola Jokic – 26.1 points, 12.3 rebounds, 9.3 assists, 58/35/81 shooting splits, 31.7 PER, 56 games played (38-18 record)
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – 31.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, 6.6 assists, 55/38/88 shooting splits, 30.7 PER, 56 games played (40-16 record)
Luka Doncic – 34.3 points, 8.8 rebounds, 9.5 assists, 49/38/78 shooting splits, 28.4 PER, 49 games played (30-19 record)
Giannis Antetokounmpo – 30.8 points, 11.3 rebounds, 6.4 assists, 62/27/66 shooting splits, 29.6 PER, 56 games played (36-20 record)
Make no mistake… Tatum's numbers are incredible, and by just using the “best player on the best team” line to discuss his candidacy would do doing Tatum a disservice. It ignores his improved defense and play-making. It ignores that on a team with many mouths to feed, Tatum's standing as the Celtics' best player doesn't seem to ruffle any feathers and that Boston's chemistry is among the best in the league. He's even been willing to take a step back — Tatum is averaging two fewer field goal attempts per game this season than he did last year — in order to make sure those mouths are fed.
At the present moment, Tatum would be fourth on my very imaginary MVP ballot, but there's plenty of room for that to change between now and mid-April.
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