Boston Celtics All-NBA swingman Jayson Tatum garnered a single fifth-place vote for the NBA’s 2019-20 Kia Most Valuable Player award, enough to land him in the final, 12th-place slot in the official balloting.
Ahead of the Duke product in the voting were winner Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks), LeBron James (Los Angeles Lakers), Luka Doncic (Dallas Mavericks), Kawhi Leonard (Los Angeles Clippers) and Anthony Davis (Lakers) for the top-five candidates.
The rest of the field of nominees included Chris Paul (Oklahoma City Thunder), Damian Lillard (Portland Trail Blazers), Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets), Pascal Siakam (Toronto Raptors), and Jimmy Butler (Miami Heat).
Woj: Brad Stevens held late-night meeting to smooth post-loss tension https://t.co/nkj6uGRVmn
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) September 18, 2020
The awards were specifically only for play up until the COVID-19 hiatus, meaning Tatum’s play in the Disney restart bubble (and everyone else’s as well) was not under consideration.
The St. Louis native had averaged 23.6 points, 7.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.9 blocks per game while shooting 39.8% from deep and 44.8% overall in the period under consideration.
