Star Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown has been having a career year with the Boston Celtics, helping to elevate a ball club most analysts saw as a retooling campaign for the Celtics. With much of the 2024 title core leaving the team in free agency or via trade after Jayson Tatum went down injured in the 2025 playoffs, expectations were understandably reduced. But Brown playing like a bona fide Most Valuable Player candidate has been one of the primary engines of Boston morphing into a contender against the odds.
And yet the Georgia native continues to find himself on the outside looking in among the top three of that race at the same time Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic has been picking up momentum in that same race. Still, others see Brown as right in the thick of the race, such as Brown’s mentor and friend Tracy McGrady.
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“Although Luka was putting up crazy numbers in terms of leading the league and scoring, we didn’t consider him one even at the halfway point of him being an MVP candidate,” said McGrady in a recent episode of his “Cousins” podcast.
Jun 17, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) controls the ball against Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) and guard Derrick White (9) in the second quarter during game five of the 2024 NBA Finals at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
“We talk about guys when they’re hot,” said the former NBA star of Doncic’s recent hot streak. “He’s hot now, for sure.”
“But I think when I look at the grand scheme of things, the big picture, the consistency over the whole entire season, I’ve got to go with Jaylen Brown, JB and what he is up against — no Jayson Tatum. So that means no other All-Star alongside him.”
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This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Tracy McGrady has Jaylen Brown atop of his Most Valuable Player race