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Evan Turner Comments on Jaylen Brown's MVP Chances

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Angelo Guinhawa | Last updated Mar 20, 2026 12:09 AM ET

Because of Jayson Tatum's Achilles injury during the 2025 NBA playoffs, the Boston Celtics entered the 2025-26 campaign with low expectations. The preseason odds had them at +6000 to win the championship, indicating that they were not projected to be title contenders.

Jaylen Brown, however, had the Celtics thriving even without Tatum. Prior to the All-Star forward's return early this March, Brown led Boston to a 41-21 record, good for the second seed in the Eastern Conference.

In 55 games played as the Celtics' lone star, Brown averaged 28.9 points, 7.2 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.0 steals.

With his impressive output coupled with the Celtics' success, Brown has naturally catapulted himself into the MVP conversation. While Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic are considered heavy favorites for the honor, Brown has been consistently mentioned among the top 10 MVP candidates.

Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) looks on during a game.© Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

Former Celtics assistant coach and ex-NBA player Evan Turner believes Brown has a chance at the award; however, he admitted that it's hard to "gauge" if he can win or not because "Vegas is hardly ever wrong."

Brown currently has the sixth-best odds for MVP, per DraftKings and Bet365.

"I think there has to be some realistic consideration in that sense because once again, it's back to the top. Guys are thriving and what else does that say?" Turner said of Brown in an exclusive interview with Athlon Sports, via Covers where the best betting sitescomparisons are regularly published.

"I think he's the most valuable to his team, everything considered. ... Because they weren't supposed to be there. You know, he's playing with a lot of first-year guys who are really getting minutes."

Turner added that to "carry a team is tough, especially out the mud."

The Celtics have 11 games remaining in the season. They face Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday, which should be a great opportunity for Brown to improve his MVP odds and show everyone he can go toe-to-toe against the reigning MVP.

At 46-23 so far, Boston is also only four games behind the top-seeded Detroit Pistons in the East. If Brown is able to lead the team to the No. 1 seed, it'll certainly be hard to ignore him as a top MVP candidate.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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