Jayson Tatum is one of the NBA's brightest young stars, and he's making an early case to at least be a fringe MVP candidate.
But so long as Jaylen Brown continues cooking, his candidacy for the honor is going to take a hit.
As the Boston Celtics stormed out of the gate, much of the success could be attributed to the nightly scoring explosions of Tatum and Brown.
ESPN NBA analyst Kirk Goldsberry put together his MVP tiers, and he had Tatum as a "peripheral threat." His reason for Tatum not being higher? Brown.
"Still, the reason Tatum isn't a clearer favorite here is Brown," Goldsberry wrote. "The Celtics have two young superstars on the wings, and both could be MVPs in the next 10 years. However, the tandem's excellence makes flagging either of them as a real MVP difficult this season."
Of course, everyone involved would probably agree it's preferable that Tatum and Brown form a two-headed monster instead of the Duke product shouldering the load by himself and winning an MVP.
The Celtics are trying to establish themselves firmly as a true NBA Finals contender. In order to do that, they'll need their two youngsters to keep tearing apart opposing defenses on a nightly basis.
