Jayson Tatum Is The Boston Celtics’ MVP But It’s Too Early To Start Talking League MVP

On Black Friday, when the Boston Celtics were playing the Sacramento Kings, fans at TD Garden began serenading Jayson Tatum on the free throw line with “M-V-P” chants. While Tatum has established himself as one of the league’s better offensive players, he has yet to put together a campaign worthy of NBA MVP honors. It’s possible that this could change this season, although history tells us it’s far too early to start that debate.

Listen, it’s tempting to check at the current odds on Tatum winning the award. Especially so, perhaps, after he shared the court with another potential 2022-23 NBA MVP candidate in Luka Dončić on Wednesday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks. Despite a 40-point night from Dončić, Tatum led the Celtics to a decisive 125-112 victory by scoring 37 points, while putting up 13 rebounds and five assists. It felt like a statement game from the 24-year-old All-Star, even to his teammates.

“He knew who he was matched up with,” longtime teammate Jaylen Brown said after the contest. “He had that game circled, don’t let him fool y’all.”

On the season, Tatum is averaging 30.5 points, 7.9 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game. He’s already set the Celtics scoring record for the first 20 games in a season even though his team has only played 19 (although he will be resting today’s Game 20 against the Washington Wizards to rest a sprained ankle). Tatum’s not just contributing on offense, he’s also improved his defense, including a newfound focus on shot-blocking which has been helpful for a Celtics team missing injured center Robert Williams.

With Brown having an inconsistent start to the season—at least by his rather lofty standards—Tatum has become the main reason that Boston has looked like the best team in the NBA early this season. If he hadn’t stepped up, it’s hard to imagine the 15-4 Celtics being on top of the Eastern Conference standings or dropped just one game in their last 11.

However, it again needs to be emphasized that the Celtics have only played 19 games. We’re still nearly a month away from the Christmas Day NBA slate that marks the unofficial start of the season for casual basketball fans. As great as Tatum has been, it’s far too early to start comparing him to the league’s other star players as some analysts have already begun doing. Keep in mind that, in the scheme of the 82-game season, the MVP race is only in its first few laps and races are about finishes rather than starts.

For that same reason, let’s not declare the Celtics the team to beat in the East just yet. Too much will change between now and April 15, some of it predictable and much of it not. We know Williams will eventually return to the lineup, but we don’t know what he will bring to the team when he gets back. It’s impossible to predict how healthy the Celtics will be at any point in the future or how well their opponents will be playing as the games start mattering more and more.

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Now we can at least make a few judgments this early on in the season. The Celtics, a team that just represented the East in the NBA Finals, are playing at least as well as they did at any point last season and Tatum is the main reason why. If this trend continues, there’s no doubt that Tatum will be part of the MVP conversation once its time to have it.