Getty Jaylen Brown #7, Boston Celtics
On the December 9 episode of “KG Certified: Ticket & Truth,” Boston Celtics Hall of Famers Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce were discussing their former team. More specifically, they were discussing stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. While praising them, Pierce had very specific high praise for Brown.
“We legitimately talk about that Jayson Tatum in the MVP conversation, but you got to start putting Jaylen Brown in the MVP conversation too. I mean, yeah, we already know they’re the top duo in the league, but we need to start talking more about Jaylen Brown,” Pierce said.
Pierce is not the only one who thinks Brown deserves some MVP consideration. Michael C. Wright posted his latest NBA MVP rankings on December 4, where Tatum was ranked first overall, but Brown was listed 10th overall.
Pierce Mocked Garnett For Celtics Prediction
On the December 2 episode of “KG Certified: Ticket & Truth,” Garnett and Pierce were praising their former team. As Garnett was praising Tatum and Brown, among others, for how well they’ve played this season, Pierce mocked Garnett for praising them after his prediction before the season started.
“Now he’s giving the Celtics praise,” Pierce said while smiling. “Remember this at the beginning? The Celtics are not going to be top four. No Robert Williams. We got to keep coming back to this because this will let you know that this is the squad you said because they didn’t have Robert Williams, that you didn’t have them (in your top four).”
Before the season started, Garnett predicted who would fill up the Eastern Conference’s top four seeds. In his prediction, he excluded the Celtics, believing that the Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Brooklyn Nets would all finish ahead of them. His prediction was a stark contrast from Pierce, Matt Barnes, and Stephen Jackson, who all had the Celtics in their top four.
Kevin Garnett really has the Nets in his Top 4 but not the #Celtics? @KevinGarnett5KG what’s going on man?
Wright’s Explanation For Tatum Being MVP Frontrunner
After listing Tatum as number one in his MVP rankings on December 4, Michael Wright explained why he ranked Tatum above everybody else, referencing their most recent win (at the time) against Miami.
“Tatum showed he was king of the court as the Prince and Princess of Wales sat courtside Wednesday to watch him drill eight 3-pointers as part of a season-high 49 points in a win against the Miami Heat. The performance marked Tatum’s third 40-point game of the season as Boston’s top-rated offense powered the team’s fifth straight win.”
Wright then singled out Tatum for putting up a statline that only five other players in NBA history have ever done.
“Tatum is the sixth player in NBA history to have multiple games with 45 points or more with 10 or more rebounds while only committing one turnover or fewer, joining the company of Anthony Davis (six such games), Michael Jordan (three), (Giannis) Antetokounmpo (three), Kobe Bryant (two) and Carmelo Anthony (two).”
Tatum was number two in Wright’s previous rankings, behind Luka Doncic.