This NBA insider thinks Celtics star Jayson Tatum will ‘win multiple MVPs'

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Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum has become a legit NBA superstar, and yet his best is likely still to come.

Tatum scored 54 points -- tying Larry Bird's franchise record for 50-point games with four -- in leading the Celtics to a 126-120 win over Brooklyn Nets on Sunday at TD Garden.

He's averaging a career-high 26.5 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. His recent uptick in performance has been the main catalyst for the Celtics winning 16 of their last 19 games. He's also gone head-to-head against MVP candidates or past winners such as Nikola Jokic, Kevin Durant, Trae Young, Ja Morant and Joel Embiid over the last few weeks and beat all of them.

Should we put Tatum in the league MVP conversation? One NBA insider believes the Celtics star will win the award on more than one occasion before he retiring.

Forsberg: Nine thoughts on contender C's and superstar Tatum

"I think he's going to win multiple MVPs before he's done. I would not have traded him for anything on the planet. I think he's that good," Stadium's Jeff Goodman said Monday on NBC Sports Boston's "Boston Sports Tonight."

"The one thing that I saw early in his career, even as a high school player, that kind of went away in college and early in the NBA, he could really facilitate. I think the game has slowed down and he's realized I don't need to be just a scorer. I can be much more than that. He's showing that now. He's cutting down on his turnovers and making better decisions. I think Tatum is that versatile forward that is able to do everything, and he's only going to get better."

Tatum is having a fantastic season and deserves MVP consideration, but it's hard to envision him winning the award this season. Jokic and Embiid have established themselves as the clear favorites for the award. Bucks superstar and two-time MVP winner Giannis Antetokounmpo could enter this mix, too.

The future outlook for Tatum as an MVP candidate is quite bright, though. He's already a superstar and an All-Star starter at age 24, and as Goodman notes above, he's only going to keep improving in so many areas of his skill set.

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