Just a post-hoop session discussion my friends and I were having about Tatum. We were speculating what the Tatum “revenge” season looked like and his potential for an MVP.

Tatum is obviously an elite two-way wing and one of the most versatile players in the league. However, I just don’t see the Kawhi/PG/Tatum archetype winning MVP again. Not when you have heliocentric players like Luka and Jokic who can put up 30-10-10 with regularity. Then you have your bigs like Giannis and Embiid who can go 35/15/5 on a given night. Shai had a great campaign last year, but he’s got the ball way more than a wing.

Advanced stats are becoming more appreciated, but a lot of voters are gonna be looking at the base statistics. And 27/7/4 with great defensive metrics don’t seem to hit the same.

  • BloodLongjumping5227BEnglish
    1·
    2 months ago

    If he shot 55 percent from the field like he should with that spacing he would probably win it and don’t give me his ts%, no one in the media cares about that and they control the narrative. People either wanna see unreal numbers or eye popping efficinecy and he has neither and Jokic has both and that’s why he wins it every year

  • CoolGrandpa1932BEnglish
    1·
    2 months ago

    I don’t think MVP voters seriously consider defense. It has always seemed like at best a tie breaker but often just an afterthought.

    • noknownothingBEnglish
      1·
      2 months ago

      I don’t think they consider anything other than 1. Narrative and 2. Whichever stats support that narrative

  • 43lokoBEnglish
    1·
    2 months ago

    Looking through MVP History, Jordan and Kobe are really the only guys in my mind who fit that archetype.

  • toldyasoBEnglish
    1·
    2 months ago

    It’s not the counting stats that’s keeping Tatum from an MVP.

    Part of it is that at times, like you know, the playoffs, he doesn’t even make a convincing case for being the best player on his own team.

    And part of it is that his defense isn’t actually at peak Kawhi level. Tatum is a damn good defender, but he’s not actually great.

  • DidAnyoneElseJustCumBEnglish
    1·
    2 months ago

    I don’t know if I ever see Tatum winning one. He’s a great player because he’s really good at everything and the kinda frame that allows him to regularly guard 3 positions and all 5 on spurts. Which again is great but I don’t think he has any of the wow factor required for MVP and I don’t know if he has another level he can reach.

  • Deep_Egg1442BEnglish
    1·
    2 months ago

    Kawhi is a diff tier from the pg tatum archetype. He just doesn’t avg crazy numbers in the regular szn like he never he even touched 28ppg.

  • ithinkiknowballBEnglish
    1·
    2 months ago

    for Tatum to win MVP with this roster would require him to average at least 31/10/5.5 on 63 TS% or better and the Celtics to win at least 65 games.

    love the dude, but I’m not gonna hold my breath for both of those happening.