The reasons why Jayson Tatum is a strong candidate for MVP this year

The reasons why Jayson Tatum is a strong candidate for MVP this year.

Superstar Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics appears to deserve extra credit in the MVP voting process based on his recent remarks.

Typically, the general rule for MVP voting in professional sports is to pick the best player on the best team.

However, that rule doesn’t apply in this year’s NBA MVP voting.

The Boston Celtics are the only club in the NBA that is ranked #1 through the 2024 All-Star Weekend with a record of 43-12.

This season, the Celtics have been unstoppable, led by star two-way wing Jayson Tatum.

Tatum, however, is now outside the running for the most coveted individual award in the league, coming in sixth in the most recent NBA MVP straw poll conducted by ESPN.

Tatum is eligible to appear on the ballot, but it appears from his zero first-place votes that people don’t think he has a chance to win the prize.

Because of their season-long efforts and contributions to the team’s success, players ranked beneath him in the poll, like Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards and New York Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson, received first-place votes. So why doesn’t Tatum?

Jayson Tatum attributes the lack of MVP love to postseason struggles.
Tatum speculates that his inadequacies during the Celtics’ 2021–22 run to the NBA Finals might be related.