Jayson Tatum will have to wait at least another year for his first NBA MVP award.
The league announced the three finalists for the award on Sunday: Oklahoma City guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, and Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo. Tatum will likely finish fourth in MVP voting for the second time in three years.
Gilgeous-Alexander and Jokic have been co-favorites to win the award throughout the 2024-25 season. Choosing Antetokounmpo over Tatum is where NBC Sports Boston’s Celtics analysts Chris Forsberg and Eddie House take issue.
“I thought by the end of the season, the people that vote for these awards would recognize that if we sit here and keep saying, ‘We’re gonna vote for SGA (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) because (of) the team’s success,’ so we’re not rewarding Tatum for the success of the Celtics? So I thought they’d recognize that and put him ahead of Giannis,” Forsberg said on Sunday’s Celtics Postgame Live.
“Giannis had a great season. I get the numbers are probably pretty glitzy and he had to carry a heavier load without Damian Lillard out there. And yet, you can’t tell me that Jayson Tatum doesn’t more positively impact winning this season for a 60-win team. I think it’s just ridiculous that he’s not in the top three. If he needs any motivation, he finds it at every turn because people just don’t give him the respect he deserves.”
House, befuddled by the continued dismissal of Tatum’s impact, believes the six-time All-Star will use his latest MVP finalist snub as fuel for another deep postseason run.
“Most disrespected superstar in the league,” he said of Tatum. “Most disrespected All-NBA First-Team player in the league. Was it three straight years he’s been All-NBA? He’s disrespected.
“And that’s OK, because sometimes that’s fuel for the fire and for the greater good of what the Boston Celtics are doing. I think it’s turning him into a monster, and eventually, he’s gonna get that MVP. So thank you, everybody.”
Tatum averaged 26.8 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 6.0 assists over 72 regular-season games. The 27-year-old tallied 17 points and 14 rebounds in Sunday’s Game 1 win over the Orlando Magic.
C’s fans were given a scare in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game when Tatum went down with a wrist injury. However, it appears it won’t keep him out for Game 2, as X-rays came back clean.
Game 2 at TD Garden is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday. Coverage begins on NBC Sports Boston with Celtics Pregame Live at 6 p.m.
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