Boston’s Jayson Tatum, MVP? Sports Illustrated’s Chris…

Boston’s Jayson Tatum, MVP? Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix thinks it’s coming

While he may have already won the NBA’s Kia Most Valuable Player Award for the 2022-23 NBA season in NBA 2K’s official simulation of the season, superstar Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum could put himself in the running to win the real thing this season with the way he has been playing of late.

That play has caught the attention of national NBA analysts such as Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix, who decided to go with the St. Louis native as his pick for MVP this season in a recent article prognosticating hardware distribution for the season to come.

“Here’s the thing: Toss out the first two months of last season, when Boston wasn’t battling COVID-related issues or, well, each other, and Tatum played like the MVP,” writes Mannix.

This is every player in Boston’s history who wore the Celtics’ No. 13 jersey for at least one game as of September 2022. https://t.co/NkL17DjsBr

— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) October 22, 2022

“He had the NBA’s best net rating after Jan. 1,” begins the SI analyst’s argument.

“He had the league’s best defensive rating after Jan. 1. And even with an uneven November and December, Tatum still led the NBA in plus/minus. This Celtics team, even without Ime Udoka, is built to start fast. Tatum, who spent part of the offseason working with Kevin Durant, could lead the NBA in scoring.”

“I’m reminded of a conversation Tatum had with Joel Embiid late last season,” adds Mannix.

The former Boston coach believes the Celtics great is still underappreciated, even now. https://t.co/Bs0AtyZWdS

— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) October 22, 2022

“‘You better win MVP this year,” Tatum told Embiid.

“Because I’m coming for it next year,’ ” recounted Mannix. “I think he’s right.”

And while it might not be a massive leap on a site covering his ball club to pick him as a potential MVP candidate, we think Mannix may be onto something here and don’t expect the former Duke standout to end up outside of the top five names in the mix.