Jaylen Brown has already added earned the Larry Bird Trophy this postseason, and he's on the verge of landing two more pieces of prized hardware.
The Eastern Conference Finals MVP helped carry the Boston Celtics over the finish line in their roller-coaster Game 3 NBA Finals win over the Dallas Mavericks Wednesday night. He did it all on both ends of the floor, scoring 30 points, grabbing eight rebounds and dishing out a playoff-career-high eight assists while playing exceptional defense.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Boston sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
The Celtics are now one win away from Banner 18 and another Larry O'Brien Trophy. If Brown keeps up his performance, he could also bring home NBA Finals MVP honors.
Brown is the new favorite to take home the Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP Award for the 2024 NBA Finals.
Here is a look at the top players' NBA Finals MVP odds from and after Game 1, Game 2 and Game 3, courtesy of Fanatics Sportsbook:
- Jaylen Brown, Celtics: +600, +270, +165, -325
- Jayson Tatum, Celtics: -120, +110, +125, +240
- Luka Doncic, Mavericks: +200, +350, +650, +3000
- Jrue Holiday, Celtics: +5000, +12000, +750, +6000
- Derrick White, Celtics: +3500, +7000, +5000, +10000
- Kyrie Irving, Mavericks: +2000, +4000, +7500, +15000
More Celtics coverage
Brown overtook teammate Jayson Tatum, who had been the favorite for the award since before the series started. Tatum had his best scoring night of the Finals in Game 3, pouring in a team-high 31 points to go with six rebounds and five assists. Oddsmakers still give Tatum a chance to win the Finals MVP, though, at +240.
Jrue Holiday's odds took a major hit, going from +750 after his spectacular Game 2 to +6000 after he scored nine points in Game 3. Derrick White has also fallen out of the Finals MVP race following a Game 3 in which he scored 16 points and hit four 3-pointers.
Kristaps Porzingis had been at +5000 after Game 2, but he is off the board after a "rare" leg injury kept him out of Game 3.
As for the Mavericks' stars, Luka Doncic is now at +3000 to win Finals MVP, not far off from the team's +2000 odds to pull off an unprecedented Finals comeback. Kyrie Irving trails him at +15000 coming off his best game of the Finals, as he scored a game-high 35 points on Wednesday.