Jayson Tatum’s career-best season was on hold Sunday night as he missed the Boston Celtics’ 95-92 home loss to the Orlando Magic for “personal reasons,” according to the team.
Tatum, 24, leads the team in scoring (30.2 points per game) and rebounding (8.2). According to FanDuel Sportsbook, he currently has the best odds of winning the 2022-23
NBA Michael Jordan Award as the league’s most valuable player.
A $100 wager on Tatum winning his first MVP award would return $250.
Following Tatum are Giannis Antetokounmpo [+300], Luka Doncic [+350], Nikola Jokic [+1,000], Joel Embiid [+1,100], and Devin Booker [+2,000.]
The loss was the Celtics’ second in three nights to visiting Orlando. Tatum played in Friday night’s 117-109 setback and tallied 31 points.
The previous Tuesday, the St. Louis native saved the Celtics from blowing a 20-point second-half lead against the L.A. Lakers. Tatum scored 44 points (the 15th 40-point game of his career) and added nine rebounds and six assists.
Boston was still an NBA-best 22-9 on Monday, but the team had dropped four of its last five games in losses to the Golden State Warriors, L.A. Clippers, and Magic.
The Celtics are scheduled to host the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night, and there was no word from the team as of Monday if Tatum would return to the lineup.
