Lakers' LeBron James Questions MVP Criteria, Backs Celtics' Jaylen Brown

After the Los Angeles Lakers unveiled Pat Riley’s bronze statue outside of Crypto.com Arena, the team had the opportunity to show the ultimate respect to the legendary head coach, who absolutely despised the Celtics when he was calling the shots during the Showtime era of the storied NBA franchise.

Unfortunately, the Luka Doncic-led Lakers fell short against Jaylen Brown and company, as the Celtics went on to blow out their arch rivals by 22 points, showing that Boston could still get the job done in a convincing fashion on the road in hostile territory without superstar Jayson Tatum.

LeBron James Praises Jaylen Brown for Self-Motivation

Jaylen Brown Boston Celtics — Feb 22, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) controls the ball against the Los Angeles Lakers during the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Following the loss to the Celtics, LeBron James had some interesting things to say about Brown, whom he endorsed for NBA MVP for what he’s accomplished thus far in the 2025-26 campaign.

“I think he’s just used the motivation of a lot of people saying that they’re gonna have a down year because of obviously (Jayson Tatum) being out, them losing Jrue [Holiday], Al [Horford], [Kristaps] Porzingis, their whole championship team pretty much has kind of revamped,” James said of Brown. “He used it at motivation to keep them afloat. They’re playing great basketball, and it’s because of him and the rest of those guys. He’s taken that next step.”

It has been impressive what Brown has been able to accomplish with the Celtics going through so many changes during the NBA offseason and having Tatum sidelined for the entire season up to this point.

Boston currently sits in second place in the Eastern Conference behind the upstart Detroit Pistons (42-14) with a record of 37-19, winning eight of their last 10 games while showing no signs of slowing down in the final stretch of the regular season.

Interestingly enough, James thinks Brown should be an NBA MVP candidate, even though he’s playing alongside one in Doncic, who leads the league in scoring at 32.8 points per game.

LeBron: Jaylen Brown Should Be in MVP Conversation

LeBron James makes a case for Jaylen Brown for MVP and says that his relationship with Brown “will be all right” after Brown went on social media to offer support for Bronny James after he had been caught on camera at a Summer League game questioning James’ son’s game. pic.twitter.com/tI7wy5wE6E
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) February 23, 2026

“This whole MVP thing, I don’t understand why his name is not getting talked about some as well,” James said of Brown’s candidacy for MVP. “Nobody gave them a shot to start the season, and he’s averaging like what, 30? Just under 30. It’s a popularity contest sometimes. I don’t know the criteria of MVP anymore. I stopped giving a damn about it a long time ago. I got my own personal issues about it.”

With the league heading into the last stretch of games before the start of the NBA playoffs on April 18, the NBA MVP race is heating up, with Brown becoming a legitimate candidate along with Doncic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City Thunder), Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets) and Cade Cunningham (Pistons).