The Paris Olympics, as turbulent as it was for Jayson Tatum, isn’t something that brews motivation within him. However, his actions showcase the vigor to break beyond the immensely elite standard he has set for himself. Since returning from Paris, Tatum has done two workouts a day routinely. The fire is boiling as far as wanting to stack up titles after the triumph last season. “Now it’s just a conversation of, ‘How great are you trying to be?”, the Celtics cornerstone says. With almost every accolade in his grasp, there is one title that remains – winning MVP.

Since taking over as the Celtics’ franchise star, Jayson Tatum has exquisitely played his part, even when the surrounding cast was a mix of surreal talents last season, his production didn’t waver. But the category to win MVP remains subjective. No one truly knows what metrics go into it. The drawback of being on the best team though, is his impact doesn’t jump out as someone like Luka Doncic, who is the soul of the Dallas Mavericks.

The perennial All-Star still ranks highly in the advanced metrics. But to win MVP, it can be argued that there has to be a balance that allows one to be selfish while not compromising the team. In Tatum’s case, in his priority to win, he is willing to sacrifice production and play a supporting role too. That trait, although astoundingly great for the Shamrocks, Ryen Russillo believes could hold him back from attaining the MVP title.

“I don’t think that he’s ever going to be selfish enough with the talent on this team and dynamic enough to have a Luka statistical season to win it,” the analyst said.

A simple look at some metrics tells the story. In terms of win shares, Jayson Tatum recorded 10.4 in a season he played 74 games in. Yet, he wasn’t even in the top five, with Anthony Davis of the Lakers even ranking higher despite finishing as the 17th seed. His output still remains MVP caliber. Bluntly put, Jayson Tatum is the best player on the best team but was still ranked 5th in MVP voting. So is it possible for him to grab those honors at all this season?

Jayson Tatum can surely win MVP, but he needs to stand out

In the past, there have been times when teams have ended as the best seed in the NBA and still the best player hasn’t been crowned as the Most Valuable Player. On the contrary, there are times such as Stephen Curry who became the first to win unanimous MVP with a Warriors team that won 73 games.

Yes, that season was magical. It’s not that Curry didn’t have an adequate supporting cast. However, the onus of scoring the ball fell on him so heavily, and he successfully satisfied those expectations. With his elusive shooting season, doubts weren’t given a place to harbor. The Celtics system though differs vastly from the Bay.

They also shoot many threes, but it comes from a collective effort as opposed to the Splash Brother tandem that accounted for most of the Warriors’ carnage. In that record-setting roster, only 2 players averaged over 15, Curry and Thompson. For the Celtics though three players average over 20 points per game.

The distribution makes it harder to single out merely Jayson Tatum as the major factor that propels the Celtics toward their success. Albeit, he is arguably the protagonist on the roster. However, to claim MVP honors on such a studded roster, he needs to have production beyond his usual greatness.

In that conversation, we see the Joker’s triple-double feats or Doncic scoring 40 so often that it overshadows the contributions of JT. It’s not unrealistic to think he can win. However, in order to be that ferocious on a roster as balanced as the Celtics will take a monumental season. He will have to create a seismic separation from his teammates to bring his name forth in the conversation.

While Tatum is very much capable of attaining such consistency, the risks to the team are far too great. In the limited championship window the Shamrocks have, Jayson Tatum, has aimed at extending his resume with championships. As far as MVPs go, he is only 26 years old with a peak that’s yet to arrive.

If not now, he will have ample opportunities to unleash the ‘selfishness’ that can push him to become the best player of the season.