The NBA MVP race rarely stays static, and this season continues to prove that point. With Nikola Jokic sidelined by a hyperextended knee and facing a steep climb to reach the 65 game eligibility mark, the door has opened wider than expected, TheSportsRush reports. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander still sits in the driver’s seat, but Oklahoma City’s recent slide has cooled what once felt inevitable. Amid that shifting landscape, one name continues to hover just outside the loudest conversations, Jaylen Brown.

Brown’s case has grown stronger as the season moves forward. Boston has leaned on him heavily while waiting on Jayson Tatum’s return, and the All-NBA wing has responded with his most assertive stretch of basketball to date. Even so, the national MVP chatter has lagged behind his production, a disconnect that recently caught the attention of Draymond Green.

Draymond Green Questions Jaylen Brown’s MVP Respect

On a recent episode of Road Trippin’, the panel ran through updated MVP odds. Allie Clifton listed Gilgeous-Alexander at No. 1, followed by Luka Doncic, Cade Cunningham, Brown, and Jalen Brunson. That ordering did not sit well with Green.

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“He should just be talking about who’s the best player in the NBA right now,” Green said of Brown. “That’s the type of basketball Jaylen Brown has been playing. I’m not sure how he hasn’t moved into top three of MVP voting.”

The timing of Green’s comments matters. Brown recently missed out on Eastern Conference Player of the Month honors, losing the nod to Brunson. Instead of letting that moment linger, Brown answered with one of the season’s loudest statements, erupting for 50 points against the Clippers while hounding Kawhi Leonard defensively.

There’s still plenty of runway left in the season, and MVP narratives can flip quickly. What’s clear is that Brown has elevated his game at a moment when the race feels unusually open. His surge has kept Boston steady and reframed his individual ceiling. Whether voters follow Green’s logic remains to be seen, but the gap between Brown’s impact and his MVP perception continues to shrink.