Six-time Boston Celtics All-Star power forward Jayson Tatum, fresh off winning his first NBA title for Boston last summer and potentially on the cusp of winning his second, is making a late-season push for league MVP honors in 2024-25.
As Boston’s social media team observes, the 6-foot-8 former Duke Blue Devil is the only active player to be leading his club in scoring, rebounding, passing, steals, and minutes per game this year.
The only NBA player leading his team in:
Points
Rebounds
Assists
Steals
MinutesJayson Tatum for MVP ☘️ pic.twitter.com/ze6lv3FhhC
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) April 5, 2025
Through 70 games for the 57-20 Celtics, the 27-year-old is averaging 26.9 points on .452/.344/.814 shooting splits, 8.7 rebounds, 6.0 assists, and 1.1 steals a night across 36.3 minutes per.
Former 10-time Celtics All-Star and 2008 Finals MVP small forward Paul Pierce, for one, believes Tatum is not getting his flowers across the league.
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During a pregame interview with former champion Celtics teammate-turned-NBC Sports Boston commentator Brian Scalabrine, Pierce made a point to sing the praises of Tatum, who’s essentially become his successor as the heart and soul of Boston basketball.
“When I watch Tatum on and off the court, he’s humble, he works hard,” Pierce said. “I have a chance to watch him workout in LA every year, he loves the game. He has something to play for because he’s probably the most disrespected superstar in our league. The motivation is always there for him. Look what they did to him at the Olympics. It seems like it’s always something with Jayson Tatum that doesn’t sit well with people and year in and year out, he’s first-team All-NBA, he won a championship and then there’s something else.”
Tatum was shuttled in and out of Team USA’s lineups during the club’s gold medal run at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
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When asked if he felt Tatum was generally being disrespected across the league, Pierce responded in the affirmative.
“I do,” Pierce said. “I think playing for the Boston Celtics and we can go back to Bill Russell winning 11 championships. At no point did they say he was the greatest ever. It was always Wilt and Kareem. It’s something about people hating the city of Boston but all we do is win.”
Reigning MVP Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets and All-NBA Oklahoma City Thunder Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are generally considered to be the favorites to win MVP honors this season, but Tatum and Milwaukee Bucks All-NBA power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo — a two-time MVP himself — are lurking.
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