Drake Maye Thinks a Different Boston Sports Athlete Is the MVP

The City of Champions has plenty to be excited about.
Drake Maye and Jaylen Brown are the talk of the town in Boston.
Drake Maye and Jaylen Brown are the talk of the town in Boston. / Maye: Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images / Brown: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Drake Maye is arguably the NFL’s MVP as we enter the final week of the 2025 season.

Through 17 games, the 23-year-old leads the league in completion percentage (71.7%), passer rating (112.9), QBR (76.5), and yards per attempt (8.9) while throwing for 4,203 yards and 30 touchdowns against just eight interceptions.

Additionally, on Sunday afternoon in New York, Maye led the Patriots to a 42–10 rout of the Jets that —coupled with a Bills loss to the Eagles—secured New England its first AFC East title since 2019. Hats and t-shirts for all!

Despite all of the attention and fanfare he’s garnered, Maye has tried his best to steer clear of MVP talk this season. Apparently, however, when it comes to other Boston athletes, the discussion is fair game.

When speaking with Boston sports radio's WEEI Afternoons during his weekly appearance on Monday, Maye was asked about Celtics forward Jaylen Brown’s candidacy for NBA MVP amid a career season with the green. Naturally, the quarterback not only leaned heavily into a conversation that wasn't about himself—but also said Brown is “100%” an NBA MVP candidate.

“I think he’s had what, how many games with 30-plus? I think he just had a couple games with 40. He’s doing whatever they need him to, and he can score the ball at will, and he does it nonchalantly. Looks like he's not even trying out there.”

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“He came out in my brother’s [Luke Maye] class,” Maye continued. “Thought about going with my brother to North Carolina but he ended up better off ... going to Cal. So I think definitely, for sure.”

For context, Brown is averaging 29.7 points and 5.8 assists—both career-highs—to go along with 6.3 rebounds per game so far this season. He’s also scored 30-plus in nine straight games and has led the Celtics to a 19–12 record so far in 2025, despite not having their other star in Jayson Tatum.

Needless to say, the city of champions has plenty to be excited about going forward.


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Mike Kadlick
MIKE KADLICK

Mike Kadlick is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in November 2024, he covered the New England Patriots for WEEI sports radio in Boston and continues to do so for CLNS Media. He has a master's in public relations from Boston University. Kadlick is also an avid runner and a proud lover of all things pizza.