{"id":543548,"date":"2026-03-25T03:09:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T03:09:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/543548\/"},"modified":"2026-03-25T03:09:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T03:09:12","slug":"jaylen-brown-should-win-nba-mvp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/543548\/","title":{"rendered":"Jaylen Brown should win NBA MVP"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"a-term a-term--primary\" href=\"https:\/\/www.boston.com\/tag\/boston-celtics\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBoston Celtics\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t&#8220;Jaylen Brown has been so resolute and dependable in the absence of Jayson Tatum and Boston is in second place in the East.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><img width=\"768\" height=\"432\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/s3___bgmp-arc_arc-feeds_generic-photos_to-arc_CHIN031826Celtics-Warriors_SPT2-69c33d1c90d63-768x432..jpeg\" class=\"attachment-16:9 size-16:9 wp-post-image\" alt=\"Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) reacts after draining a three during the 1st quarter. The Boston Celtics hosted the Golden State Warriors Wednesday, March 18, 2026 at TD Garden in Boston, MA.\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"  \/><br \/>\n\tJaylen Brown is one of the top candidates for NBA MVP this season.  Barry Chin\/The Boston Globe\t<\/p>\n<p>The race for NBA MVP is heating up over the final weeks of the 2025-26 season.<\/p>\n<p>There are several compelling candidates across the league, including Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Spurs center Victor Wembanyama, and Lakers guard Luka Doncic.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But, Celtics wing <a href=\"http:\/\/Boston.com\/tag\/jaylen-brown\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Jaylen Brown<\/a> is also making a legitimate case for himself as Boston\u2019s de facto leader and scoring conduit in a season where Boston has exceeded plenty of expectations.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It appears Brown has his supporters across the NBA and the broader media landscape.<\/p>\n<p>During Tuesday\u2019s episode of ESPN\u2019s long-running show, \u201cPardon The Interruption,\u201d hosts Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser both agreed that Brown should be the current frontrunner for the coveted award.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have a vote in this, and I will tell you that it\u2019s tightened up,\u201d Wilbon said of the NBA MVP race. \u201cMy vote, and I\u2019m not even sure [of] the order, I think is \u2014 Jaylen Brown, one. I think it\u2019s [Gilgeous-Alexander], two, and I think it\u2019s Victor, three. And then don\u2019t talk to me about a guy who plays half the court, Luka Doncic.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs somehow catch OKC for first place in the West, I will cast a vote \u2014 it\u2019s a regular-season award \u2014 for Victor Wembanyama, who isn\u2019t just the face of the NBA, he\u2019s the face of worldwide basketball. \u2026\u00a0 Right now, Jaylen Brown maybe \u2014 he\u2019s leading at the tape. You know what I mean?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Brown had made the most of the opportunity presented to him this season on a Celtics roster that moved on from several starters last summer, while also trudging ahead without <a href=\"http:\/\/Boston.com\/tag\/jayson-tatum\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Jayson Tatum<\/a> for the majority of the year due to an Achilles injury.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Brown rose to the occasion, with the 29-year-old star averaging career highs in points (28.5), rebounds (7.0), and assists (5.1) per game through 64 games. Beyond stuffing the stat sheet, Brown\u2019s play has also played a key role in Boston\u2019s continued standing as a contender in the Eastern Conference.<\/p>\n<p>While some feared that Tatum\u2019s injury and last summer\u2019s roster overhaul would signal a \u201cbridge year\u201d in Boston, the Celtics currently sit in second place in the Eastern Conference with a 47-24 record.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>With Tatum back in the fold, the Celtics could make a legitimate title run in the coming months.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Kornheiser agreed with Wilbon\u2019s take about Brown\u2019s candidacy this season.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf I had a vote, and I don\u2019t \u2014 if I had to vote today, I would vote for Jaylen. \u2026 Because Jaylen Brown has been so resolute and dependable in the absence of Jayson Tatum and Boston is in second place in the East,\u201d Kornheiser said. \u201cSan Antonio is in second place in the West.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut what Wembanyama has been doing lately is sort of amazing. \u2026\u00a0 I could be persuaded, because I think the numbers are there [for Wembanyama]. I\u2019m still in the Jaylen Brown camp.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>While some momentum has been building in Brown\u2019s favor in recent weeks for MVP honors, Celtics legend Paul Pierce <a href=\"https:\/\/www.boston.com\/sports\/boston-celtics\/2026\/01\/06\/jaylen-brown-player-of-the-month-paul-pierce-comments\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">has stressed since January<\/a> that Brown has not received enough respect as one of the top players in the league.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think Brown is having an MVP season,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.boston.com\/sports\/boston-celtics\/2026\/03\/22\/jaylen-brown-nba-basketball-boston-celtics-paul-pierce-mvp-league\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Pierce said on Sunday at TD Garden<\/a>. \u201cI mean, not enough is being said on how he\u2019s held down the fort for pretty much all year. \u2026 To be able to still elevate your game in your 10th year is pretty amazing, because most of the time, guys are who they are by the time they\u2019re in their fourth, fifth year.\u200b<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut just to see his maturation process at this stage. And it\u2019s just unfortunate that he\u2019s not in MVP talks like he should be.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Headshot_Conor-645c0406ed6cb-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Profile image for Conor Ryan\"\/>\t<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for the Today newsletter<\/p>\n<p class=\"m-generic-cta__subtitle\">Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Boston Celtics &#8220;Jaylen Brown has been so resolute and dependable in the absence of Jayson Tatum and Boston&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":543549,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[355,99],"class_list":["post-543548","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/543548","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=543548"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/543548\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/543549"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=543548"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=543548"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=543548"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}