Honestly, we in the media can’t say enough about how well Jaylen Brown has played this season. I’m sure you, as a reader, are well aware, perhaps even sick of hearing about it. But the way Brown has elevated his game is getting an appropriate amount of buzz, believe it or not.
The Boston Celtics star is posting a career-high 29.7 points per game through 34 games, and is doing so with career-best efficiency. Brown’s ability to not only take on the added attention from opposing defenses as Boston’s top option but to thrive with it has justifiably created nationwide buzz.
Fans and media around the country are consistently mentioning Brown’s name when discussing All-NBA teams and even the MVP award.
Now, it’s a tad rich to talk about JB as a frontrunner to win MVP. There are a handful of guys around the league who are playing at a similar level to him, if not better. For example, reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander seems primed to repeat with his 32 points per game on an insane 55% from the field.
Others like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic, both former MVPs, are putting together strong cases as well.
Brown's durability could make him one of the frontrunners for the MVP
The difference is that the “MVP conversation” actually means something now. Ever since 2023, when the NBA implemented the 65-game threshold for players to become award-eligible, the depth of the player pool that could win any given award has grown deeper.
At the beginning of the decade, talking heads would go on national shows and claim that Player X needs to be mentioned in the MVP conversation. In reality, if a player needs people campaigning for them to even be mentioned for the award, they were never actually going to win it.
Typically, the race is between two, maybe three at most, players.
As The Athletic’s John Hollinger recently pointed out, the games played rule gives Brown, in particular, a real shot to be in said race.
“This isn’t about Brown, whose play speaks for itself — he’s fifth in PER and has only missed two games, and his Celtics have the best net rating in the Eastern Conference despite Jayson Tatum’s Achilles injury,” Hollinger wrote. “But rather, it’s an entry point to a discussion about the unintended consequences of the league’s 65-game rule and whether it will essentially leave us with only two players standing — Brown and Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — in what otherwise would be an epic NBA MVP race.”
Players like Jokic, Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic, Victor Wembanyama, and more are at serious risk of losing award eligibility if they miss another significant window of time this season.
Should Brown have a leg up on these guys, regardless? Maybe some of them, but not all. SGA and Jokic have better stats on teams with better records than Boston. Antetokounmpo is having one of his best statistical seasons, too, just as the Milwaukee Bucks continue to pile up losses.
Maybe the games-played threshold is too harsh, but there is something to be said about the value of availability. In the Celtics’ case, many felt, and still feel, that their play would fall off a cliff if JB had to miss extended time with an injury.
He’s been the motor of this team through the first few months.
Brown, as well as other durable players, deserves credit for their commitment to staying on the court.