Race-5 It wasn’t the best match of the series Jaylen Browninaccurate at shooting with 7/23, messing up a bit from long range (2/9 from three) and above all at the rim, but still finishing with 21 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals. The contemporary high level performance by Jayson Tatum (31 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists) in the game that gave the Boston Celtics their 18th title he put into doubt a prize that until then was firmly in Brown’s hands, but the journalists who voted for the Bill Russell Award wanted to reward the continuity enjoyed by the number 7 throughout the series, especially when marking Luka Doncic. For Brown – who wasn’t even named to an All-NBA team – it’s about the second consecutive individual recognition after winning the MVP of the Eastern Conference finals, sealing an amazing playoff run in the two halves of the field.
The words at the awards ceremony: “I share it with Tatum”
Overwhelmed by the emotions and the embrace of his teammates, Jaylen Brown has immediately referred to Tatum upon receiving the award: “It was a team effort, I share it with my brothers and with my partner in crime Jayson Tatum, who has stuck with me since the beginning. We share this award together” he said before high-fiving and hugging Tatum. In the press conference the number 0 returned the favor to his teammate: “First of all, congratulations. He deserved it, I’m extremely happy for him. Our main goal was to win the title, we weren’t interested in the Finals MVP award. I’ve needed him along this journey, and he’s needed me. It was nice to share that moment with him, he earned it“.
in-depth analysis
Tatum the best, Brown MVP: the game 5 report cards
Brown beats Tatum 7-4 in MVP voting
As they have been every year 11 members of the media were asked to give their preference for the MVP award of the final. Seven of them (Sam Amick of The Athletic, Tim Bontemps of ESPN, Mike Curtis of the Dallas Morning News, Vince Goodwill of Yahoo Sports, Shaun Powell of NBA.com, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today and our Simone Sandri from Gazzetta dello Sport, the only international member) voted for Jaylen Brown, while others four (ESPN’s Malika Andrews, ABC’s Doris Burke, ESPN Radio’s PJ Carlesimo and Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe) they voted for Tatum.
