How NBA world views Celtics star Jaylen Brown's MVP candidacy originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown has been a great player for a while. He has multiple All-Star appearances, a second-team All-NBA selection, an Eastern Conference Finals MVP and an NBA Finals MVP on his resume.
But this season has been different.
Brown has taken his performance to a much higher level, and it has helped the Celtics defy some of the most optimistic expectations entering the 2025-26 campaign — one that many people thought would be a gap year because of Jayson Tatum’s Achilles injury.
But this has been no gap year. The Celtics entered Monday in second place in the Eastern Conference standings with a 37-19 record after dismantling the Los Angeles Lakers on the road Sunday night.
Brown scored 32 points with eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals. It was an MVP-caliber showing for Brown.
The last Celtics player to win league MVP was Larry Bird in the 1985-86 season. It was the third of his three straight MVPs.
Could Brown end that drought and win the award this season? Oddsmakers aren’t giving him much of a chance. Some sportsbooks have Brown at +3500 (35-1) odds to win MVP, well behind favorites Nikola Jokic (+270) and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (-140).
Other people in the basketball world, including rival players and the media, feel differently about Brown’s candidacy.
Let’s look at what they’re saying about Brown’s MVP chances.
LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers
James is the most notable active player to comment on Brown’s MVP case.
“This whole MVP thing, I don’t understand why his name is not getting talked about some as well,” James told reporters after losing to the Celtics on Sunday. “Like, nobody gave them a shot to start the season. And he’s averaging what, 30? Just under 30? It’s a popularity contest sometimes, I tell you.”
James added: “I think he just used the motivation of a lot of people just saying that they’re going to have a down year. The whole championship team pretty much is kind of revamped, and he used it as motivation to keep them afloat. They’re playing great basketball, and it’s because of him and the rest of those guys. He’s taken that next step.”
James is a four-time league MVP, and he probably should have won a few other times.
Brown appreciated the praise he received from James.
“It’s an honor for LeBron, who’s arguably the best player to ever play the game, giving me some high praise,” Brown said. “So, I’m just grateful.”
Tracy McGrady, Hall of Famer/NBC Sports analyst
NBA legend Tracy McGrady, who now works for the NBA on NBC, has said recently that Jaylen Brown is his MVP.
He was asked about Brown’s MVP case by CLNS Media at All-Star Media Day.
“Well, when I look around the NBA, and for me the criteria is how productive are you for your team, how impactful are you for your team, the leadership you provide, what are you when you play against the other MVP (candidates),” McGrady said.
“What he had to go through losing Jrue Holiday, losing Al Horford, (Kristaps) Porzingis, Jayson Tatum is out, and then you bring in a new cast of guys in and try to get them acclimated with everything you guys are doing. (He’s) playing both sides of the ball and averaging 29 points, (the team is) third in the Eastern Conference.
“When I look at that landscape, look at Shai, I look at Jokic, these guys have missed time but they have their respective teams, their core guys are coming back.”
Charles Barkley, Hall of Famer/ESPN analyst
Barkley won league MVP in the 1992-93 season when he led the Phoenix Suns to the best record in the league before losing to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in the NBA Finals.
He views Brown and Detroit Pistons point guard Cade Cunningham as the top MVP candidates right now.
“First of all, we have this stupid argument every year,” Barkley said on Inside the NBA. “Who’s the best player? The MVP never goes to the best player. It’s a dog fight right now between Jaylen Brown and Cade Cunningham. If one of them two guys don’t win MVP, it would to me it’ll be like – and I don’t have a vote – but Cade Cunningham and Jaylen Brown, them boys, they are 1 and 1A for MVP.”
Kendrick Perkins, ex-Celtics center/ESPN analyst
Perkins, who spent eight-plus seasons with the Celtics and was the starting center on their 2007-08 championship team, would vote for Jaylen Brown if the MVP race ended today.
“If I had to pencil in an MVP, Jaylen Brown is getting my vote,” Perkins said Monday on ESPN show Get Up. “He is doing more with less. And I say that respectfully to guys like Payton Pritchard and Derrick White. What (Brown) is doing on both ends of the floor — no other person in the league is doing it at this level. He’s the best two-way player in the game. … Jaylen Brown is answering all the questions to the test. Can he lead a team? Can he be a franchise guy? He is showing you he is more than that.”
DeMarcus Cousins, Former NBA star
Cousins, who made four All-Star and two second-team All-NBA appearances in 11 seasons, recently put Cade Cunningham and Jaylen Brown at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in his MVP rankings. He sees those two players as a tier above the rest.
“First is Cade Cunningham, then it’s Jaylen Brown, then it’s everybody else,” Cousins said on FanDuel TV’s Run It Back show.