Nobody penciled this in. Not after Jayson Tatum went down. And yet, somehow, Boston is sitting second in the East at 27–16, quietly defying the math most people had already done on them.
And this isn’t happening by accident. While Derrick White and Anfernee Simons have filled important gaps, the engine of all this has been Jaylen Brown. He’s putting up 29.8 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.8 assists on 48.8 percent shooting, stepping cleanly into the first-option role Boston needed without Tatum.
At some point you have to say it out loud. This is MVP stuff. Brown is checking every box, and around the league, that level of play is starting to register. While it’s quieter than usual, former Miami Heat star Chris Bosh has openly made the case for Brown as the MVP.
“Can we give Jaylen Brown some credit! He should be MVP. I think he’s front runner in my opinion. He’s playing amazing basketball. Nobody slotted Boston to be 2nd and Jaylen to be playing the way he is.”
Chris Bosh has Jaylen Brown as his MVP front runner 👀
“Can we give Jaylen Brown some credit! He should be MVP. I think he’s front runner in my opinion. Hes playing amazing basketball. Nobody slotted Boston to be 2nd and Jaylen to be playing the way he is” pic.twitter.com/AAB2vHhXDZ
— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) January 22, 2026
