Celtics' Jayson Tatum Weighs in On Whether He is Viewed Unfairly in MVP Race

Ricardo Klein | 17 Hours Ago

Dec 21, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) brings the ball up court against the Chicago Bulls during the second half at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images / Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

The Boston Celtics took home the 2024 title last season, and they have the best odds to do the same in 2025. The Celtics are loaded from top to bottom and will run away with the title if they are healthy and whole.

Still, there is a long way to go, and they'll look to focus on the task at hand. In the meantime, the Celtics are playing great ball, led by their star player, forward Jayson Tatum. Tatum has been playing like an MVP thus far this season, and there is a good chance that he will end up with some first-place votes. However, reality seems to be setting in for the 26-year-old.

He is familiar with how the voting might take place and that he is sort of at a disadvantage when it comes to his overall team's success. His team may be too good for him to take home the award, besides the fact that team success plays a factor in the MVP conversation.

After the Celtics game on Saturday, Tatum spoke on how his MVP stock can get overlooked because of the team he’s on, but he doesn’t care and only wants to win more championships.

“Probably so. I’m on a really, really good team. There’s so many talented players that I’m probably not going to put up the same numbers as some of those other guys and that’s perfectly fine with me, especially what we did in June last year. That’s the main focus, not me winning MVP, but for us to play at a high level and compete for championships year in and year out. If I accomplish that along the way, that would be amazing, but the main goal is for everybody to feel involved and everybody to play a part and that’s doing something special.”

Jayson Tatum postgame on how his MVP stock can get overlooked because of the team he’s on, but he doesn’t care and only wants to win more championships: #Celtics
“Probably so. I’m on a really, really good team. There’s so many talented players that I’m probably not going to put… pic.twitter.com/HnS6UibWcn

— The Celtics Files (@CelticsFiles) December 22, 2024

Tatum was spectacular in his latest outing on Saturday against the Chicago Bulls, scoring 43 points, 16 rebounds, and 10 assists while shooting 16-of-24 from the floor and 9-for-15 from three.

He is the first Celtic ever to post a 40-15-10 stat line.

Tatum's overall numbers are impressive, but as he stated, it may take a Herculean effort for him to take home the MVP award. Nonetheless, whether he achieves that or not, all that matters is adding banners to the TD Garden.

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