Jayson Tatum Makes Big Prediction Before Celtics’ Title Defense

Jayson Tatum claimed the majority of basketball’s highest honors across his first seven seasons with the Celtics.

After joining Boston as the No. 3 overall pick in 2017, Tatum collected five All-Star appearances, three first-team All-NBA honors, two Olympic gold medals and an NBA championship. The 26-year-old probably already has done enough to become a Basketball Hall of Famer, but there’s another accolade that could take his résumé to another level.

Tatum flirted with the league MVP Award in recent years, finishing inside the top six of voting in each of the last three seasons. The Celtics franchise cornerstone believes he will get over the hump in the upcoming season, though, as he predicted ownership of 2024-25 MVP honors during his appearance Wednesday on NBC’s “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”

Oddsmakers aren’t very bullish on Tatum’s chances of winning the NBA’s highest individual honor this season. As of Thursday morning, eight players had shorter MVP odds at FanDuel Sportsbook, including Jalen Brunson and Victor Wembanyama.

Should Tatum defy those odds and hoist the Michael Jordan Trophy next spring, he would be the first Celtics player to win MVP since Larry Bird won his third in a row in the 1985-87 season.