Celtics News: Where Jayson Tatum Lands in Latest NBA MVP Rankings

Will Tatum win the award this season?

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Can Jayson Tatum emerge as a true frontrunner for the NBA MVP award this season?

Over recent seasons, Tatum seems to be a part of the MVP conversation during the season but remains on the outside looking in by the end of the year. Tatum finished sixth in the MVP race last season, fourth in 2023, and sixth in 2022. He has not broken into the top of the MVP race in recent years, though he is consistently one of the best players in the league.

According to the Kia NBA Ladder, Tatum is currently second in the MVP race to Denver Nuggets' star Nikola Jokić. Part of the reason Tatum has yet to win an MVP award is the undeniable dominance of Jokić, who has won three of the last four NBA MVP awards. Jokić is now a three-time NBA MVP along with an NBA Finals MVP. He has averaged over 25 points per game in each of his MVP-winning seasons, as well as a double-double.

This season, Jokić is currently averaging a triple-double with 29.7 points, 13.1 rebounds, and 10.6 rebounds per game. Jokić ranks top-five in each of the top three statistical categories just over a month into the season. He is fourth in the NBA in scoring, first in rebounds per game, and second in NBA assists. Only two players — Russell Westbrook and Oscar Robertson — have ever averaged a triple-double over the course of an entire season.

Though Jokić's triple-double average is hard to contend with, Tatum is holding his own at second in the MVP race so far. Tatum is currently averaging 28.7 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 5.8 assists per game this season. He ranks fifth in the NBA in scoring average, but just top-30 in rebounds and assists per game.

Still, Tatum does have an advantage in that his team is more successful than the Nuggets. The Celtics are 16-3, compared to the Nuggets, who are 10-7. This in itself likely isn't enough to allow Tatum to leap past Jokić without Tatum overtaking him in other areas as well.

Behind Jokić and Tatum, Los Angeles Lakers' Anthony Davis ranks third in the race, Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo ranks fourth, and Oklahoma City Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is currently fifth.

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