The second Jayson Tatum went down in Recreation 4 of the Jap Convention semifinals at Madison Sq. Backyard final Might, you would really feel the season pivot. One second he was rising off his proper foot on the wing, the subsequent he was on the ground. His torn Achilles robbed the Celtics of one other title probability and instantly altered projections for the 2025-26 season. For years, Tatum set their scoring rhythm, absorbed the hardest defensive consideration, and closed their greatest video games. Take that pillar away and the workforce’s id must be in danger.
By the point the offseason settled, the notion across the Celtics had shifted from assured to cautious. A step again felt inevitable to many observers. With out Tatum, and with extra roster turnover pushed by second-apron monetary strain, this season was framed as a probable hole 12 months, possibly even a one-season tank job for a high prospect in a loaded 2026 NBA Draft class.
It was an inexpensive projection. It simply undersold how a lot room Jaylen Brown needed to develop with an extended runway to guide this group.
MVP Case Being Made by Jaylen Brown
Final season, Brown averaged 23.0 factors, 5.5 rebounds, and three.6 assists. He made one other All-Star workforce. He offered constant affect coming off a NBA Finals MVP honor and a Celtics championship the season prior, however he nonetheless operated inside a shared hierarchy. The offense flowed by means of two stars.
With out Tatum, Brown has stepped up as a lot as possible, not solely protecting the Celtics afloat, however serving to place them second within the Jap Convention at 37-19.
Via 51 video games, Brown is averaging 29.2 factors, 7.0 rebounds, and 4.9 assists whereas taking pictures 48.1 % from the sector. His shot makes an attempt have jumped from 17.9 per recreation to 22.6. He’s shouldering a heavy offensive workload out of necessity and displaying no indicators of slowing down.
So why is he not receiving extra consideration for this 12 months’s MVP award? Brown spoke about his function in an unique interview with the New York Publish, and he didn’t sound shocked by the dialog round him.
“I all the time knew I used to be among the finest gamers on the planet,” Brown informed the New York Publish. “I all the time felt like that. And on high of that, the chance offered itself as a result of we obtained guys that obtained traded and injured. So, I’m simply grateful to have the ability to have nice teammates that enable me to guide them.”
Jaylen Brown Has Shouldered a Major Possibility Position
Essentially the most compelling a part of Brown’s leap is not only the scoring bounce. It’s how he has taken management.
He has taken actual management of the offense. He’s initiating extra possessions, operating pick-and-roll as the first ball handler, and studying the protection as a substitute of predetermining the shot. He’s looking mismatches within the mid-post and leaning on his energy as a substitute of simply his first step when the second requires it. The late-clock possessions that used to swing someplace else now keep in his arms.
His reads are sharp whereas he controls the sport offensively. There’s a distinction between merely taking extra pictures and truly operating the sport. Brown is doing each in methods which can be immediately tied to Boston profitable at a excessive stage. The Celtics now have one of many league’s greatest data after an 8-8 begin that appeared to verify each “hole 12 months” concern. With veteran expertise gone and their greatest participant rehabbing, they had been anticipated to slip towards the center.
Baylor Scheierman says Jaylen Brown is usually sharing suggestions with the youthful guys:
“He is the chief of our workforce, and he is all the time making an attempt to assist instill confidence within the younger guys.” pic.twitter.com/HYJvLfVQjO
— Justin Turpin (@JustinmTurpin) February 24, 2026
As an alternative, Brown has set the tone for a Celtics workforce that’s going past staying afloat. His current outing towards the Los Angeles Lakers captured what this model of Brown appears to be like like. He completed with 32 factors, eight rebounds, seven assists, and three steals in a 111-89 win. It was a powerful showcase of how he dictates tempo, assaults mismatches with out forcing, trusts teammates when the assistance protection rotates, and units the defensive tone from the opening tip.
Afterward, LeBron James endorsed Brown’s MVP case.
“This complete MVP factor, I don’t perceive why his identify will not be getting talked about some as nicely,” James mentioned. “Like, no person gave them a shot to begin the season. And he’s averaging what, 30? Slightly below 30? It’s a recognition contest generally, I let you know.”
James pointed on to the context that always decides these awards.
“I feel he simply used the motivation of lots of people saying that they’re going to have a down 12 months,” he mentioned. “The entire championship workforce just about is type of revamped, and he used it as motivation to maintain them afloat. They’re enjoying nice basketball, and it’s due to him and the remainder of these guys. He’s taken that subsequent step.”
“Subsequent step” sounds easy, however Brown by no means wanted to show he might rating, and he by no means wanted to show he belonged among the many NBA’s greatest wings. What he had not finished but was information a season the place the workforce’s ceiling clearly rose and fell with him. Enjoying on such a gifted workforce with Tatum by no means made {that a} necessity. Now that it’s, he has capitalized.
Regular Outcomes Regardless of Boston Celtics Roster Turmoil
This season is not only “no Tatum, extra Brown.” He’s main a workforce that moved on from key members of a 2024 Finals group, together with Jrue Vacation and Kristaps Porziņģis.
To get beneath the second apron, Boston despatched Vacation to Portland for Anfernee Simons and draft capital. Porziņģis was dealt to Atlanta in a three-team commerce that introduced again Georges Niang and a future second-round choose. In a matter of days, two starters from their title run had been gone.
On paper, the depth chart appeared fragile. Vacation’s point-of-attack protection and off-the-dribble punch had been gone. Porziņģis’ spacing and rim safety left a void. Early reactions questioned whether or not Boston had taken an excessive amount of off the desk. But months into the season, the standings clearly inform a unique story. Boston has remained close to the highest of the East in offensive and web ranking, even after transferring on from Simons on the commerce deadline to additional clear up the cap sheet, whereas leaning on Derrick White and Payton Pritchard in bigger roles and a rotating frontcourt to fill gaps.
Gamers averaging 29+ PPG whereas holding opponents beneath 42.2% as the first defender (min. 500 FGA)
1. JAYLEN BROWN👑
That’s the record. pic.twitter.com/d66Gf3xvYj
— Playoff BOS (@PlayoffBOS) February 23, 2026
The widespread denominator has been Brown’s dynamic affect. He has taken on the first scoring function realizing he’s the primary identify on each scouting report. He has continued to embrace excessive defensive expectations and the management vacuum that naturally follows when a franchise centerpiece and trusted veterans are not accessible.
Put merely, the Celtics’ ground by no means dropped out as a result of the engine by no means stalled.
The MVP Panorama, and The place Jaylen Brown Matches
Because it stands, the MVP race has its hierarchy with Brown nonetheless on the skin wanting in. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leads most MVP ladders. Nikola Jokić is true there. The following tier usually consists of Cade Cunningham, Luka Dončić, and Victor Wembanyama.
Brown, even with this season, is usually handled as a dark-horse candidate. That disconnect makes his case attention-grabbing. On paper, he checks the containers: elite manufacturing, actual two-way affect, a profitable workforce close to the highest of the standings, sturdiness in a 65-game world, and a transparent growth of duty after dropping a co-star and two starters.
But he’s nonetheless framed as a protracted shot.
When the New York Publish requested him immediately whether or not he believes he ought to win MVP, Brown didn’t hesitate.
“Me?” he mentioned. “I’m one of the best two-way participant on the planet.”
He elaborated.
“I play each ends on the court docket,” he defined. “Evening to nighttime, I’m accessible, which is difficult to do. I’m a frontrunner. I assist lead my workforce, empower my workforce to come back out and play confidently, stuff that doesn’t all the time present up on the analytics. And I’m a winner. I come out and attempt to win each single night time.”
Availability would possibly sound routine, however this 12 months it issues. The 65-game rule makes sturdiness a part of the equation. Brown has began each recreation whereas carrying extra workload and duty than ever. He nonetheless takes powerful perimeter assignments. He nonetheless competes defensively on nights when the offensive workload is heavy.
A Season That Reframed All the pieces
Final 12 months, Brown was a star inside a balanced machine. This 12 months, he’s the machine. That’s the distinction, and the narrative ought to observe go well with. His scoring has climbed. His decision-making has sharpened. His voice carries extra weight. The workforce has begun to orbit him.
The Celtics didn’t simply survive dropping their franchise cornerstone and two extra high-level starters. They reorganized round one other one. The MVP race will proceed to circle acquainted names, and the betting markets will mirror that. However worth isn’t simply numbers on a web page. It’s context, duty, and timing. It’s what a participant does when the protection web disappears.
This season, Brown didn’t simply tackle extra. He reshaped what Boston appears to be like like with out its current championship core, together with his fellow star wing in Tatum. Whereas it stays to be seen what Tatum can provide them if, or when, he returns this season, the Celtics are positioned to have Brown on the peak of his powers now and a wholesome Tatum alongside him in 2026-27.
