Thanks to a 3-0 record in the NBA Finals, the Boston Celtics are now just one more win away from securing their first championship ring since the 2007-08 season. Due to this, the media narrative has now reportedly heavily shifted to covering the star players of the rosters, especially small forward Jayson Tatum. The higher-than-anticipated attention, unfortunately, also brings with it some unwanted expectations. With the same haunting the Celtics star before the historical game, New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson believes that the only way to get rid of the spotlight is to give the media what they want.

In his interview with Bleacher Report‘s Taylor Rooks Brunson speaks about shifting media narratives. The Knicks star feels that to succeed in the eyes of the media, he will most definitely have to meet the threshold/expectation set upon him by them. Taking Warriors star Stephen Curry as an example, he emphasized how quickly the media allegedly changed their perception of him once he secured the MVP title to his name. The same route is something that Jayson Tatum can follow as well.

“The Narrative for Jayson is that he has this great team around him, he should be in MVP talks, he should be Finals MVP, he should be all this stuff,” said Brunson. “For him to escape that narrative…. They’re not going to stop until he wins a Finals MVP”.

With the Celtics’ championship win looking more inevitable than ever, the focus has shifted to speculating who will be named the Finals MVP at the end of the tournament. According to the official site of the NBA, shooting guard Jaylen Brown has taken the top spot in this race after delivering memorable performances in the last three matchups. Jayson Tatum, the franchise’s highest average scorer, meanwhile holds the 2nd spot. This is in part because while Tatum has been averaging 21.7 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 7.3 assists during the Finals, Brown has taken the lead with an average of 24.3 points, 6 rebounds, and 5.7 assists. Furthermore, his feat of being the second Celtics player ever to secure 30+ points, 8+ rebounds, and 8+ assists in a Finals game has further increased his chances.

Jayson Tatum can surpass Jaylen Brown’s records by adding to his average score. Unfortunately, to do so, he may have to take the Finals series till Game 7. The same would only be possible if the Celtics lost three of their upcoming matchups. With Luka Donic and co having been unsuccessful in doing so till now, the chances of the series to go till Game 7 seem bleak.

Jayson Tatum Isn’t Concerned about securing the Finals MVP Title: “A champion is a champion”

One more win. That is all that lies between Jayson Tatum and several other members of the Celtics roster to possess their very own championship ring. One more win to accomplish a feat that has slipped away from the hands of so many NBA greats that came before them. While receiving the individual accolade of Finals MVP is also a dream come true for many, Jayson Tatum has made it clear that the same should not be given priority when he, as well as his team, has the ultimate accolade coming their way.

“Finals MVP or whatever, a champion is a champion,” said Tatum during an interview with Chris Haynes. “That’s the goal. I want for my teammates what I want for myself. I want everybody to shine. There’s enough attention for all of us. And so, I want everybody to give us theirs.”

Taking a glimpse back to the 2021-22 season, the 5x NBA All-Star revealed how disheartening it was to reach all the way to the NBA Finals, only to let the Larry O’Brien Trophy slip away from his hands. At that point, all the other individual accolades that he had achieved did not seem to matter. “The only thing they said I haven’t done is win” Tatum continued. “I just vowed to myself that if I ever got back to the Finals, then I would literally do whatever I needed to do to ensure that we have a different outcome.”

Game 4 is set to take place a few hours from now. Once the same concludes, it won’t be long before the NBA world gets to know the championship as well as the Finals MVP winner.

Before leaving, be sure to check out some insights that Shaquille O’Neal’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, shared about WNBA star rookies Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark.