Michael Wilbon wants to zig where everyone else is zagging.
The veteran ESPN commentator Wilbon revealed this week on “Pardon The Interruption” that he is currently planning to give Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown his vote for NBA Most Valuable Player this season. Wilbon noted that he does hold a vote for MVP and laid out his top three.
“I have a vote in this,” he said. “And I will tell you, it has tightened up. My vote, and I’m not even sure the order. I think it’s Jaylen Brown one, I think it’s SGA [Shai Gilgeous-Alexander] two, and I think it’s Victor [Wembanyama] three. And then don’t talk to me about a guy who plays half the court, Luka Doncic.”
Wilbon did also note that he would be switching his vote over to Wembanyama if the San Antonio Spurs ultimately surpassed the Oklahoma City Thunder for the best record in the NBA.
The former Finals MVP Brown is having an unbelievable season individually. He is averaging career highs across the board with 28.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game. Brown has also led the Celtics to the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference in the absence of co-star Jayson Tatum (though Tatum has since returned to the lineup).
That said though, Brown does not score the ball as well as Gilgeous-Alexander, does not have as big of an impact defensively as Wembanyama, and does not have the all-around individual numbers that Luka Doncic or Nikola Jokic do. Thus, the frontrunner for the award right now is probably Gilgeous-Alexander (but Wembanyama is quickly picking up MVP steam as well).
