When Tatum poured champagne with Jaylen Brown in his arms, the duo worked together for seven years to win the first championship of their careers and shatter the doubts of the outside world, and they successfully reached the top of the championship. As for who wins the FMVP, does it really matter that much? It is true that Brown has beaten Tatum to win the MVP and FMVP of the Eastern Conference finals, but in fact, Tatum is a person with better personal data whether it is the Eastern Conference finals, the Finals or the entire playoffs. The advantages and disadvantages of the Green Army Double Tanhua coexist, and it is difficult to distinguish between the two in strength, and there is no absolute meaning of the "boss difference", but there is no doubt that Tatum is recognized as the top brand of the Green Army, and the Double Tanhua can only lead the team to win the championship by working together wholeheartedly, and it is expected to lead the team to defend the title next season.
Individual awards: Brown won consecutive Eastern Conference finals MVP and FMVP to beat Tatum
"I'm sorry, Tutu." Brown once again succeeded in "robbing", after winning the MVP of the Eastern Conference finals, and now beating Tatum in the FMVP battle, winning this year's division MVP and FMVP in a row. Brown is the third player in history to win the division MVP and FMVP in the same year, and the first in Eastern Conference history, compared to Curry and Jokic in the past two years.
In fact, in the battle for MVP in the Eastern Conference finals, Brown narrowly defeated Tatum 5-4 and won by only one vote. As for the FMVP battle, Brown beat Tatum with 7-4 votes, but in fact, at the end of the G5 game, there were still many voices in public opinion that Tatum would win the award, after all, he performed better in the finals G5 31+8+11, and Brown certainly got 21+8+6 data, but only 23 of 7 in the sluggish crosshairs, but he still won the award again with a 3-vote advantage over Tatum.
Data comparison: Tatum is better and has the first team-wide playoff point assist
In fact, compared with the data of this year's finals of the Green Army's double tanhua, the details are as follows:
Brown averaged 20.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game while shooting 44.0 percent from the field, 23.5 percent from three-point range and 73.3 percent from the free throw line.
Tatum averaged 22.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game while shooting 39.0% from the field, 26.3% from three-point range and 92.6% from the free throw line.
It is not difficult to see that Tatum is better than Brown in scoring, rebounding, and assisting, just as he is also better than Brown in scoring, rebounding, and assists in the Eastern Conference finals, but he still lost to Brown and missed the award. As for Tatum, the most criticized is that the shooting rate in the finals is as low as 39.0%, which is worse than Kobe's 40.5% FMVP in 2010, which has become his most criticized point, but Tatum's three-point shooting rate is actually slightly better than Brown's, and the free throw shooting rate is far better than Brown's.
More importantly, Tatum ranked first on the team in points, rebounds and assists per game in the playoffs this year, and led the team to win the championship, becoming the sixth person in history. Tatum is on par with Big Bird Bird in 1984 and 1986, James in 2012, 2013 and 2016, Duncan in 2003, Olajuwon in 1994 and Jokic in 2023. The difference is that the first 5 people all got FMVP, and only Tatum didn't get FMVP.
Core responsibility: Tatum is more comprehensive, and Brown is more trustworthy in key moments
Tatum's average of nearly 22+8+7 quasi-triple-doubles per game in the finals is undoubtedly extremely comprehensive, and he has even become the Celtics' playmaker. Tatum was limited by the Mavericks' targeted defense, and his offensive crosshairs were not good, but he was able to use playmaking and passing to connect the team's offense, showing his all-around attributes to lead the team to win the championship.
Brown, on the other hand, is more trustworthy in crunch time, after all, he is slightly less limited by defensive targeting than Tatum. Brown has been more decisive and powerful at key moments in many games, while Tatum has repeatedly wasted at key moments, which has made Brown's performance at key moments more recognized.
Public opinion recognition: Tatum is more expected, and the outside world is more demanding, leading to criticism
Although Brown is currently the Celtics' highest-paid player, and he deliberately signed the largest five-year, $305 million contract in history last offseason, there is no doubt that public opinion still generally agrees that Brown is the second best player in the Green Army.
Relatively speaking, Tatum is more recognized by the outside world as the top star of the Green Army, so the outside world has higher expectations for him. It's just that although Tatum led the team to win the championship this year, his performance in the Finals, and even the performance of the entire playoffs, did not show absolute personal dominance, which is far from Jokic last year.
International players have won the regular season MVP for many seasons in a row, and now the battle for the first place in the league is basically between international stars led by Jokic and Brother Alphabet. Tatum, as a representative of American players, has not really been able to call Jokic and others, so the outside world has too high expectations and higher requirements for Tatum, so he will be criticized more harshly.
Boss battle: Between the two cores, neither of the top supergiants has absolute strength to carry the team
If one is accidental, then does the success of two consecutive "robberies" confirm that Brown is already the boss of the Celtics?
In fact, between Tatum and Brown, the two have led the Celtics to the Eastern Conference finals many times in the past, and also had a trip to the Finals in 2022, but they never won the championship, so the pressure on them is the same, and even Tatum needs to carry more pressure.
This year, Tatum and Brown's cooperation, coupled with the help of Holiday , White and Porzingis, finally allowed them to successfully win the championship, which is also the 18th championship in the team's history after 16 years, surpassing the Lakers 17 championships and ranking first in history.
It's just that Tatum and Brown are not the top supergiants in the league, and there is a significant gap between them and the height and ability of the former Janduku, and their individual strength is not as good as Jokic, Antetokounmpo and Doncic, Embiid, etc. If one of them is injured and the remaining one goes to lead the team to the championship, it is unlikely that they will win the championship in the playoffs, so there is no need for the boss between them, and the two are more complementary and indispensable.
Publicity Tops: Tatum is broadly recognized as the Green Army's top brand than Brown
The reason why there is a "battle for the boss of the Green Army" is more about the needs of public opinion, the need for topics for the media, the need for fans to talk about, and the need for stars in the NBA.
The three old supergiants of Janduku continue to age, especially this year, Curry missed the playoffs, James and Durant were both out of the playoffs, and Janduku collectively missed the second round of the playoffs for the first time in the last 18 years. The league has reached a time of renewal, with international stars such as Jokic, Antetokounmpo, Doncic, and Alexander being too sharp, while American players are lagging behind in the battle for the top façade.
Tatum is naturally a more recognized representative of American stars, after all, he has been selected for the best team for three consecutive years, and Brown has not been selected for this year's All-Star team even if he won the double MVP. As a publicity need, Tatum is still the more recognized top star of the Green Army in a broad sense.
Future prospects: Shuangtanhua is expected to lead the team to defend the title by working together wholeheartedly
Tatum said in a post-game interview about Brown's FMVP, saying, "I'm happy for my teammate (Brown), he deserves it. Tatum added: "We'll celebrate, take a breath, and then we'll be ready for another wave." ”
Since the 2017 and 2018 Cosmos champions defended their titles, the NBA has won the championship with six different teams in the last six years, and it will be extremely difficult to defend the title, let alone dream of building a three-game championship dynasty. Tatum is expected to complete a five-year, $314.8 million super-cap contract extension this summer, and his duo with Brown will still be the core guarantee for the Green Army to defend their title next year.