The Boston Celtics are Jayson Tatum’s team. In his five-year career so far, the 3x All-Star has been the best player on the Celtics and has emerged as one of the best scorers in basketball.
These Finals, however, have some people re-thinking the player pecking order in Boston.
In a chat with Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson, Antoine Walker gave the nod to Jaylen Brown as his pick for Finals MVP.
“I would have to go with Jaylen Brown. I think that Game 1, when he played that fourth quarter, getting them back into the game. Obviously, he wasn’t great in Game 2… but in Game 3, he was terrific. The way he started the game, the way he finished it. He’s been consistent. And I don’t know if you felt this way, but in the Eastern Conference Finals, he could’ve easily been the MVP.”
"I would have to go with Jaylen Brown." 👀
@WalkerAntoine8 tells @ScoopB that JB would be his pick for NBA Finals MVP if the series ended with the Celtics winning it all today. @FCHWPO 🏀 pic.twitter.com/gtQ3UDclGP
— FanDuel Sports Network (@FanDuelSN) June 10, 2022
Brown has been fantastic in the series, and especially in Game 3 when he dropped 27 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists on 56% shooting. If he does go on to win Finals MVP, however, some believe it wouldn’t bode well for his relationship with Tatum.
In the past, there has been some debate about who is the best player on the team, and Tatum might not appreciate being overshadowed by the guy who he believes should be his sidekick.
If you ask Tatum about it, he’ll only say good things about his dynamic with Brown.
“It’s just two young, extremely competitive guys that just really want to win at all cost,” said Tatum on the relationship with his co-star. “I think, obviously, that made us closer in a sense that we just wanted to figure it out. Not necessarily prove people wrong, but just prove that we can win and put ourselves in a position to do that,” said Tatum. “And it was tough. At certain times, we were 3 games under .500 and the 11th seed. I’m sure not many would have people thought we would have got to this point. But there was always a sense of belief between us and the group that we were capable of figuring it out.”
No matter how you slice it, the future is bright for Boston. Even if they end up losing this series, they have a solid foundation in Tatum and Brown that can keep them competitive for years to come, and head coach Ime Udoka will continue to bring out the best in his guys.
It will be interesting to see how this team grows and develops over time. For now, though, their only focus is on beating the Warriors and bringing home title no. 18.
