In the first quarter Tuesday night against the Brooklyn Nets, Jayson Tatum made a jab-step three-pointer that went in. It was his 13th, 14th, and 15th point of the game. He was surrounded by loud “MVP” cheers as he walked towards the free throw line for point 16.

Tatum hears those sounds almost every night at TD Garden.

But this wasn’t TD Garden. It was at Barclays Centre in New York City, and Tatum slammed the Nets with 41 points, 14 rebounds, five assists, and two steals. The Celtics won 118–110.When players start getting loud “MVP” chants in other stadiums, let alone in a rival city, you know there’s some truth to it. And with the way he’s been leading the Celtics lately, Jayson Tatum is making a strong case for the NBA’s top regular-season award. 
Tatum’s main reason for wanting the award is that he plays for the league’s best team and is its best player. With a 42-12 record, the Celtics are by far the best team in the NBA. Even though the team has had a number of great players, Tatum has been its most reliable and strong leader as the season has gone on.

Ten times in the last 11 games, Tatum has scored the most points, grabbed the most rebounds, and set up the most shots. JT has shot 50.7 percent from the field and averaged 29.4 points, 9.5 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game during that 9-2 run. In all 11 of those games, he has scored at least 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds. This is the longest streak of games like this since Kevin McHale did it 14 times in late 1986. 
Tatum proved once again on Tuesday night why he should be the MVP: he not only scored but also made the right changes to help his team win.

With 31 points in the first half, the five-time All-Star tied his career high.

“I got some easy ones,” he said of his fast start. “I left during change. I got a few free throws. I got some free throws to make open threes, so I was just in a good groove.

Tatum’s defence was changed by Brooklyn after halftime, though, making it harder for him to get open looks. To which he replied by altering the game in different ways. 

“Sometimes I have to be a decoy,” he said. “They were going to guard me differently because I had 31 assists, so I was trying to get assists, move the ball, and trick the defence.”

Brooklyn came back early in the fourth while Tatum was on the bench. In the first four minutes and more of the frame, they scored 13 points, outscoring Boston 4 times. But as soon as he checked back in, the C’s scored seven straight points to make their lead 14 points again.

Tatum scored the most points and grabbed the most rebounds in the game. He was also the most helpful with 21 points. 
Joe Mazzulla, the head coach, said, “He wants to win more than anything else.” “He knows he has to be great for us every night, but it looks different every night. I think that’s part of his growth as a player.”

This season, Tatum has been getting better in a lot of different ways. This is a big reason why the Celtics are so far ahead of the rest of the teams in the results.

There’s nothing else that says “MVP” like that.