The Atlanta Hawks have a keeper in Jalen Johnson. Should he be getting MVP love?
Jalen Johnson will not win the 2025-26 NBA MVP award. It's a reality Atlanta Hawks fans should accept. It is not happening. He's not even on the MVP ladder.
Right now, it comes down to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Victor Wembanyama, Nikola Jokic, and Luka Doncic. Jaylen Brown and Cade Cunningham both rank ahead of Johnson on NBA.com's MVP ladder as well. So, he's not really in the mix.
Is that fair?
Let's start with a basic premise: There can be more than one MVP-level player in the NBA in the same season. Realistically, there always is.
Any of the four in the first tier could justifiably win. They all have better stats than Johnson, and their teams all have better records. That's roughly true for Cunningham as well.
It's only in comparison to Brown that Johnson's case gets interesting.
Johnson is averaging 22.9 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 8.1 assists per game to Brown's 28.6, 7.0, and 5.2. The advanced stats favor Johnson, as his 4.6 Box Plus/Minus (BPM) and 7.1 Win Shares (WS) are ahead of Brown's 3.8 and 6.5.
The basic counting stats reflect the differences between the two. Brown is a more advanced scorer, and Johnson is a more natural playmaker. They're both players with strong defensive reputations who have realistically regressed some on that end with a larger offensive burden.
The Celtics have the better record, yes - but they've also had a steadier season. It's arguably unfair to knock Johnson for the Hawks' pre-All-Star break woes. They rostered Trae Young, which was obviously problematic because they moved him. After that, there was some adjusting to life after Young.
So: Should Johnson leapfrog Brown in the MVP race?
Likely, not.
It would be nice to say Brown had a stronger supporting cast, but it wouldn't be honest. After Derrick White, the Celtics' roster has been pretty thin before the return of Jayson Tatum. It's fair to say Brown dragged them beyond their expectations.
Here's the most encouraging takeaway for Hawks fans. Brown (29), Gilgeous-Alexander (27), and Dončić (27) are all squarely in their prime. So is Jokic (31), but he's closer to the back end than the front. After Wembanyama (22), Johnson is tied with Cunningham for the youngest in the top-7 candidates at 24.
When you talk about the future of the NBA, Johnson's name should come up quickly. He won't win MVP this year, but nobody should rule it out in the future.
Hawks fans can't ask for much more than that.