After losing megastar forward Jayson Tatum to a season-ending ruptured right Achilles tendon in Game 4 of last season’s NBA Eastern Conference semifinals—an injury widely expected to sideline him for much, if not all, of the 2025–26 campaign—the outlook for the Boston Celtics took a significant blow heading into this season. That sense of uncertainty only deepened after a sweeping roster overhaul in the aftermath of the 2024 NBA Championship, as key contributors Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, and Al Horford were moved elsewhere. With their franchise cornerstone sidelined and the championship core dismantled, expectations entering the current campaign were understandably modest.
Of course, not every Celtics star was gone. Most notably, Jaylen Brown, the five-time NBA All-Star and 2024 NBA Finals MVP. Now in the midst of the best season of his career, Brown is posting career highs in both scoring and assists. His 30 points per game represent a massive jump from his career average of 19.6. Long regarded as one of the league’s elite talents, Brown has also often, ironically, been underrated as well, largely due to his longtime pairing with Jayson Tatum and the ever-present question of whether he could thrive as a true No. 1 option.
If this season is any indication, the answer is a resounding yes. Brown has seamlessly assumed that role and carried the Boston Celtics to a 27–16 record (.628 percentage, 5.5 games back from 1st place overall), good for second place in the Eastern Conference at the time of writing. That performance stands in sharp contrast to preseason expectations, as Boston was widely projected to be navigating a rebuilding year.
Brown’s big leap hasn’t gone unnoticed by NBA analysts. Hall of Famer Chris Bosh thinks Brown’s career year is strong enough to net him MVP honors.
“Can we give Jaylen Brown some credit?” Bosh asked on NBA Showtime on NBC. “He should be MVP. I think he’s front runner in my opinion. He’s playing amazing basketball. Nobody slotted Boston to be 2nd and Jaylen to be playing the way he is.”
Bosh certainly makes a valid point, even if the MVP race remains as competitive as ever. In the most recent KIA MVP Ladder, Brown checks in at fifth, trailing the OKC Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic, the Los Angeles Lakers’ Luka Doncic, and the San Antonio Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama.
That said, much like the Celtics themselves, Brown has already made a habit of defying expectations this season, and there is little reason to believe he cannot continue to do so as the year unfolds.
Do you agree with Chris Bosh’s Jaylen Brown MVP case? Do you think the Celtics star has proven that he can be the team’s #1 option without Jayson Tatum by his side? Let us know in the comments.
