Celtics’ Jaylen Browns Drops Outside Top Five Of NBA’s MVP Rankings originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

One NBA writer doesn’t appear to consider Jaylen Brown a serious contender in the 2025-26 MVP race.

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NBA.com’s Shaun Powell moved Brown down from No. 5 to No. 7 in his weekly MVP rankings. Donovan Mitchell leapfrogged the Boston Celtics star at No. 6, and Luka Doncic climbed two spots to No. 4.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander maintains the No. 1 designation after scoring at least 20 points in a record-setting 127th straight game in Thursday’s 104-102 win over Boston. Victor Wembanyama moved up to No. 2 after registering 39 points and 11 rebounds in Tuesday’s 126-116 victory against the Celtics.

The referees didn’t help Brown’s MVP cause by ejecting him during the second quarter of Tuesday’s road game against the San Antonio Spurs. He scored eight points, falling short of 20 for the first time since Jan. 5, in 15 minutes before receiving two technical fouls.

It’s awfully hard to penalize Brown for Thursday’s loss. Even with Derrick White and Jayson Tatum sidelined, the Celtics nearly defeated the defending champions on the road behind Brown’s 34 points, seven assists and six rebounds.

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Brown’s MVP chances nevertheless seem to be slipping. He’s a colossal +15000 long shot to win the award on FanDuel Sportsbook, equating to an implied probability of under 1 percent.

Meanwhile, Gilgeous-Alexander is a runway -900 favorite over Wembanyama (+1800), Nikola Jokic (+1800) and Cade Cunningham (+5000). The reigning MVP is averaging 31.8 points and 6.6 assists with an NBA-high 12.9 win shares for the 52-15 Thunder.

Brown may need to follow Bam Adebayo’s lead to leap back into the MVP picture when the Celtics host the Washington Wizards on Saturday.

More Celtics: NBA Analyst Says Jaylen Brown Has Proven ‘What His True Ceiling Is’