Jayson Tatum is putting the NBA on notice this season.
Tatum is coming off one of his best games this season after scoring 44 points in the Boston Celtics' win over the Los Angeles Lakers. Of course, the win wouldn't have happened if the 24-year-old didn't hit the game-tying fadeaway over LeBron James to force overtime, so it was an extra special outing for him.
This is all to say that Tatum has been a man on a mission through 28 games, and Stephen A. Smith has been paying attention.
On ESPN's "First Take," Smith stated that the Celtics forward is his leading MVP candidate, citing Tatum's determination to make up for Boston's NBA Finals loss.
"(Jayson Tatum) is my leading candidate for league MVP. He's really stepped up," Smith said, per the ESPN video.
"He's a guy that didn't do what he's capable of doing in the NBA Finals and he's playing like it," Smith continued. "In other words, he's on a mission. It's not just about his talent. Yeah, you take it game to game and what have you but it's not just about his talent. It's him putting the league on notice, 'I'm coming. I know what I'm capable of. I believe I'm the best. And I'm going to go out here and I'm going to show it because I damn sure didn't show it in the NBA Finals.'
"It's one thing to play the way that he's playing. It's another thing for it to piggyback directly off of a subpar performance on the biggest stage and you're on a mission to make up for it."
Tatum currently is averaging 30.2 points, 8.3 rebounds, 4.1 assists per game, and has a field goal percentage of 47% while the Celtics sit at 22-7 with the best record in basketball. He's leading by example in all the right ways with eyes on getting his team to the mountaintop.
