The NBA MVP award voting has become mysterious and hard to understand. With new undefined criteria and unfair media narratives held against players, the award has lost some value. Boston Celtics fans have seen star Jayson Tatum once again put together a great season, yet he is nowhere to be found in MVP talks.

Currently, Tatum has the fifth-best MVP odds, which is absurd considering the Cs are the best team in the NBA.

At this point, what does Tatum have to do to win the award?

What will be the ridiculous excuse used today to discount Jayson Tatum's performance with regard to his MVP candidacy? https://t.co/s8ztuIu7uy

— Marc D'Amico (@Marc_DAmico) March 3, 2024

Jayson Tatum should still win MVP even with sacrifices he’s made for Boston Celtics

Although Tatum has taken a dip in his scoring average, he has sacrificed to make the Cs an unstoppable force. Even with the sacrifice, Tatum is still averaging 27/8/4, which is a more than respectable stat line.

Despite the elite numbers and team success, Tatum is being torn down by unfair narratives.

Multiple NBA analysts, from Bob Myers to Brian Windhorst, have said that Tatum should not win MVP due to his loss in the NBA Finals in 2022. The fact that this has become a lingering discussion is a disgrace, and it shows how unfair narratives have become.

How can you hold a previous season against someone for an award based on one year? It’s ludicrous.

The case for Tatum is simple. He is the best player on the best team in the league, and it’s his time. There is no need to hold unfair narratives against him. If that is the case, the Celtics should hope that Tatum uses it as fuel to win a championship and Finals MVP.

“The criteria [for MVP] is the best player on the best team. It’s [Jayson Tatum] and he can make a loud statement with this game [Warriors].” – Paul Pierce @Paulpierce34 and I are rockin’ with the C’s today vs. Golden State ☘️ look for @jaytatum0 to make a statement and further… pic.twitter.com/gfqRZVCgZq

— Kevin Garnett (@KevinGarnett5KG) March 3, 2024

Ultimately, it feels like, at this point, the only way Tatum is going to win an MVP is if he wins a title first. As dumb as that sounds, it seems like the only logical way at this point.