During a March 10 episode of ESPN’s “First Take,” Stephen A. Smith claimed that Jaylen Brown is performing at an MVP level. Smith’s comment echoes those of Boston Celtics fans, who have watched Brown lead Boston to the second seed in the Eastern Conference despite preseason expectations of a battle to make the play-in tournament.
However, Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey isn’t sold. The analyst believes that while Brown is having a career year, he isn’t operating at a level that deserves consideration in the MVP race.
“This attempt to put Jaylen Brown in the MVP conversation is absolute madness,” Bailey wrote on X. “Brown is 4th in total points, 46th in raw total plus-minus, 36th in estimated wins (Dunks and Threes) and 18th in wins over replacement player (Basketball Reference). The Celtics point differential is better (actually, way better) when he's off the floor...Brown is having the best season of his career. There's no reason (other than clicks, I suppose) to pretend it's something it's not and welcome this kind of response.”
It’s true that the advanced analytics aren’t being kind to Brown this season. In fact, they’re telling a completely different story from what most people are witnessing. However, it’s worth remembering that Brown is shouldering a heavy offensive load. According to Cleaning The Glass, he’s third in the NBA in usage rate, which measures a player’s role within an offense.
When a player has such a large offensive role, their analytics will usually suffer.
Nevertheless, it’s fair to argue that Brown is behind the likes of Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Cade Cunningham and Victor Wembanyama. Still, it’s worth noting that the NBA’s last MVP ladder, released on March 6, had Brown ranked fifth.
Nobody came into the season believing Brown would win MVP. Most Celtics fans aren’t expecting that to happen, even after his stellar season. Still, the fact that Brown is firmly in the conversation is proof of his impact on Joe Mazzulla’s team. Unfortunately for Brown, that might need to be enough.
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