On Monday, Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley made an argument for six different NBA MVP candidates (in order): Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokic, Cade Cunningham, Victor Wembanyama, Luka Doncic, and Boston Celtics wing Jaylen Brown.
According to Buckley, there is a big drop-off in candidates after Brown.
“Bump back from Brown, and the next player’s MVP odds tumble to +10000 (Donovan Mitchell),” Buckley wrote. “So, this feels like a reasonable place to stop, even if the viability of Brown’s candidacy is sure to spark some fierce debates.”
“Because there are definitely ways to pick apart his MVP campaign, and you don’t have to get especially nitpicky to do it. For all of the production progress he’s made in the absence of Jayson Tatum, it’s hard to paint Brown as the league’s most valuable player when his team has fared 8.1 points better per 100 possessions without him,” Buckley continued.
“So, he’s not going to sway any by-the-numbers voters. Not even while simultaneously obliterating his previous-high in points (29.2, was 26.6) and posting the third-highest field-goal percentage of his career (48.4). He needs folks to care about the narrative, because his story is a great one.”
“The Celtics were seemingly destined for a gap year the second Tatum was lost to an Achilles tear last May,” Buckley added. “But somehow, some way, the Celtics find themselves owning the East’s No. 2 seed and the NBA’s No. 3 net rating.”
JB continued his career year on Sunday night when he dropped 32 points in a convincing win over the Lakers in Los Angeles.
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