A former NBA star put Jaylen Brown near the top of an unconventional MVP ballot.
Brown has played himself into the MVP conversation by keeping the Boston Celtics afloat without Jayson Tatum. The 29-year-old is averaging a career-high 29.2 points and 7.0 rebounds per game entering Sunday night's primetime matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers.
DeMarcus Cousins boldly placed Brown above Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic in the MVP race on FanDuel's "Run It Back". However, the former four-time All-Star center still sees Brown as a runner-up to budding Detroit Pistons star Cade Cunningham.
"First and second is Cade and Jaylen Brown," Cousins declared on Friday. "Then it's everybody else."
The oddsmakers don't agree with Cousins' MVP handicapping. Gilgeous-Alexander is a -150 favorite on FanDuel Sportsbook to win his second straight MVP award, and Jokic trails at +350.
Cunningham rose to +600 after leading the Pistons to a statement road win over the New York Knicks on Thursday with 42 points, 13 assists and eight boards. Meanwhile, Brown is a considerable +7500 longshot behind Victor Wembanyama (+2500) and Luka Doncic (+3500).
A repeat MVP is the more likely outcome. Gilgeous-Alexander and Jokic lead everyone else in win shares, PER and offensive box plus/minus by a healthy margin.
Brown ranks 40th in wins shares, so he faces a steep uphill climb to an MVP bid. He can make his case when the Celtics play the Lakers on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET on NBC.
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