Jaylen Brown was chosen Monday as the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the NBA Finals, in which he led the Boston Celtics to their first title since 2008 by beating the Dallas Mavericks 4-1. Brown, 27, averaged 20.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.0 assists in the five games of the Finals.

Tatum also in contention

"It was a full team effort and I share this with my brothers and my partner in crime Jayson Tatum. He was with me the whole way, we share this s**t together," said the forward when he was given the trophy to the applause of Boston's TD Garden. Brown, selected with the No. 3 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, later hugged Tatum, the star of the franchise, who recorded an average of 22.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 7.2 assists in the Finals.

The couple, known as the "Jays," have been the mainstays for the Celtics for the last seven seasons, a period in which they had already led the team to the 2022 NBA Finals, which they lost to the Golden State Warriors. Jaylen Brown, a three-time All-Star, signed the most lucrative contract in NBA history last year, worth $304 million for five seasons.

Latest Finals MVP winners:

2024: Jaylen Brown (U.S. / Boston Celtics)

2023: Nikola Jokic (Serbia / Denver Nuggets)

2022: Stephen Curry (U.S. / Golden State Warriors)

2021: Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece / Milwaukee Bucks)

2020: LeBron James (U.S. / Los Angeles Lakers)

2019: Kawhi Leonard (U.S. / Toronto Raptors)

2018: Kevin Durant (U.S. / Golden State Warriors)

2017: Kevin Durant (U.S. / Golden State Warriors)

2016: LeBron James (U.S. / Cleveland Cavaliers)

2015: Andre Iguodala (U.S. / Golden State Warriors)

The players with the most Finals MVP awards in history:

6 - Michael Jordan (U.S.) (1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998)

4 - LeBron James (U.S.) (2012, 2013, 2016, 2020)

3 - Magic Johnson (U.S.) (1980, 1982, 1987)

- Shaquille O'Neal (U.S.) (2000, 2001, 2002)

- Tim Duncan (U.S.) (1999, 2003, 2005)

2 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (U.S.) (1971, 1985)

- Willis Reed (U.S.) (1970, 1973)

- Larry Bird (U.S.) (1984, 1986)

- Hakeem Olajuwon (Nigeria) (1994, 1995)

- Kobe Bryant (U.S.) (2009, 2010)

- Kevin Durant (U.S.) (2017, 2018)

- Kawhi Leonard (U.S.) (2014, 2019)