Jayson Tatum’s Return Hampered Jaylen Brown’s MVP Chances, Says Skip Bayless

Jaylen Brown was the de facto team leader on the Boston Celtics when Jayson Tatum was recovering from his Achilles tendon tear.

Jayson Tatum’s Return Hampered Jaylen Brown’s MVP Chances, Says Skip Bayless

Jaylen Brown, Skip Bayless, and Jayson Tatum (Image via FirstSportz)

After Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles tendon during the 2025 Western Conference Semifinals, many expected Jaylen Brown and the Boston Celtics to have a down year.

Naturally, losing their best player was going to have an enormous impact on the team, which relied on him to shoulder most of their offensive burden.

His ability to defend the perimeter with ease was also one of the reasons the Celtics won their 18th NBA championship back in 2024.

On top of it, the franchise traded away two of their starters in Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, as they had to dip under the dreaded second apron.

Despite all those potential shortcomings, the Celtics have surprised everyone. Not only are they the fourth-best team in the league, but they were close to overtaking the Detroit Pistons for the overall lead in the East.

That is before Jayson Tatum returned. At that time, most of the conversations were about Jaylen Brown. Many felt the guard had stepped out of the shadows of his teammate and made himself a legitimate MVP candidate. Now, Skip Bayless believes, those conversations have vanished.

It hurt my heart to watch what happened to Jaylen Brown over the last month. For a while, I had JB No. 1 in the MVP… He’s vying for the top. He literally put that whole team on his back… If Jaylen hadn’t done what he did this year, there’s no way that Jayson comes back.

Skip Bayless said

The 74-year-old believes that Brown’s MVP-esque performances are why the Celtics are in this position. It is also the reason why Tatum decided to return from his injury early.

Skip Bayless believes Jayson Tatum would not have returned if not for Jaylen Brown pushing Celtics

While continuing to talk about the Boston Celtics’ situation, Skip Bayless then asked his Gil’s Arena colleagues if Jayson Tatum would have returned had the team struggled.

Brown has to share the ball with Taum
Brown has to share the ball with Taum (Image via Sleeper Celtics/X)

What if they had a gap year? What if they were way out of the playoffs? Do you think Jayson comes back?… Jaylen made Jayson possible, and then it cost Jaylen any MVP consideration at all. Because as soon as Jayson steps back on the floor, it’s over for Jaylen in the MVP race.

Skip Bayless said

The longtime analyst pointed out that the moment Tatum returned, being the de facto leader of that team, Jaylen Brown had to share the ball, and that impacts his MVP stature.

Had Tatum not returned, the 2024 Finals MVP would have continued on this run and deservedly should have been in the running to become a league MVP.

Skip Bayless claims Celtics owner was surprised by Jaylen Brown’s growth

Skip Bayless went on to claim that he and former ESPN colleague Stephen A. Smith discussed having Jaylen Brown as their MVP pick while having lunch in Los Angeles during the All-Star weekend.

Then, he revealed a situation where they ran into one of the Boston Celtics’ owners, and let him also know about their MVP favorite.

The owner said, ‘The shock to us is that Jaylen Brown got this much better this late in his career, we didn’t know he had that in him.’

Skip Bayless revealed

Bayless pointed out that the surprise was primarily because the five-time All-Star never had the opportunity with Jayson Tatum hogging the ball more than him.

The analyst even used statistics to point out how the Duke alum was attempting more three-point shots and had more time on the ball than Brown. That is why now, the latter does not have a chance to win the MVP award.

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