Jaylen Brown Edges Jayson Tatum as NBA Finals MVP

The Boston Celtics absolutely dominated the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 of the NBA Finals in front of their raucous home crowd. By halftime, the Celtics built a 21-point lead over the Mavs and for most of the third and fourth quarter, the only unknown was who would win NBA Finals MVP.

Jayson Tatum entered the series as the favorite to win MVP at BetMGM with odds at -120. Jaylen Brown surpassed his teammate after Game 3 and entered Monday's closeout game as the -225 favorite to win MVP. By the third quarter, Tatum had moved back into the lead as the favorite, but Brown eventually walked away with the Bill Russell trophy.

The way the Celtics cruised through the series, it always felt like it would be a two-man race to win the award. The decision to name Brown — the Celtics' best player according to Mavs head coach Jason Kidd — will certainly be a conversation.

Brown took on the challenge of being a defensive stopper and put up 20.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 5 assists in five games against the Mavericks. Tatum finished Game 5 just two rebounds short of the 51st triple-double in NBA Finals history. He finished the series averaging 22.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 7.2 assists, leading the Celtics in all three categories.

The win wasn't shocking, but will be a tough pill to swallow for bettors who were on Tatum in the series. Tatum had 22.4% of the money bet on the NBA Finals MVP award at BetMGM, more than any other player.

Tatum joined Larry Bird (1984), Hakeem Olajuwon (1994), Tim Duncan (2003), LeBron James (2012, 2013 and 2016), and Nikola Jokic (2023) as players to lead their teams in points, rebounds, and assists and win a championship. Tatum is the only member of that group who didn't win NBA Finals MVP, according to HoopsHype.