Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is leading the NBA MVP race, but Jaylen Brown has a chance to gain some ground on him when the Boston Celtics take on the Oklahoma City Thunder tonight.
Coming off an ugly ejection in Tuesday's loss to the San Antonio Spurs, Brown has an opportunity to redeem himself in OKC tonight. He'll also be without his partner in crime, Jayson Tatum, so all eyes will be on him to see if he can help the Celtics upset the Thunder.
With only a month left in the regular season, this is an important game for both teams, not to mention a potential NBA Finals preview. It's also a chance for Brown to make a statement in the MVP race, which he badly needs after getting tossed in the second quarter on Tuesday.
As of Thursday afternoon, SGA is a -800 favorite to win the MVP on DraftKings Sportsbook. Brown has the fifth-best odds but is still a +10000 long shot.
"He's got to show up tonight for the purposes specifically of the MVP award. Tonight is the most important game of Jaylen Brown's season." 🏆 @stephenasmith shares his thoughts on Jaylen Brown's ejection and what it means for the Boston Celtics and his MVP award chances ✍️ pic.twitter.com/Z8vDBbPVTi
— First Take (@FirstTake) March 12, 2026
"He's got to show up tonight for the purposes specifically of the MVP award. Tonight is the most important game of Jaylen Brown's season, for the purposes of the MVP," Stephen A. Smith said on Thursday's episode of "First Take." "Because it's Shai on the other side. That's the brother that you got to go against. They're one and two to me, then Jokic and Wembanyama."
Smith has been pushing Brown's MVP case lately, giving him a lot of credit for carrying Boston in Tatum's absence.
Now, he'll try to do it again with Tatum getting the night off.
"I am going to do everything in my power to give him all benefit of the doubt to capture league MVP," Smith added. "He's not going to be robbed if I have anything to say about it."
If Brown has a big game tonight, that will certainly help.
More NBA: Former NBA Guard Makes Bold Prediction Over Celtics Playoff Chances