1) Jerry West over Bill Russell and John Havlicek, 1969

It’s been officially called the “Bill Russell Finals MVP” award since 2009 but the titular player never earned it. That was no fault or Russell or voters; the award just wasn’t instituted until his final season in the league. If Finals MVP had existed prior to 1969, the 11-time champion Russell arguably would have at least eight trophies. But in his one chance at actually capturing the award, voters instead chose to honor his losing opponent. West averaged 37.9 points per game in the 1969 NBA Finals, including 42 in the deciding game seven loss. An impressive effort, no doubt, but it really sticks out like a sore thumb in retrospect, with no losing player since earning Finals MVP. A 35-year-old Russell was on his last legs in these playoffs but averaged 9.1 points and 21.1 rebounds against the Lakers, along with his usual incredible defense on Wilt Chamberlain. John Havlicek was Boston’s leading scorer for the series, finishing with 23.8 points and 11.0 rebounds per game. It’s hard to argue against the decision, but it’s also difficult to swallow that Russell wasn’t awarded in maybe his gutsiest and most impressive performance. Havlicek would eventually win Finals MVP in 1974.

2) Kobe Bryant over Pau Gasol, 2010

Just as he had in his first Finals MVP performance in 2009, Bryant statistically dominated the 2010 NBA Finals. “Black Mamba” averaged 28.6 points per game in a a series win over the Celtics that went the full seven. That was 10 full points higher than the next player from either team. That player happened to be his teammate Gasol, who averaged 18.6 points, 11.6 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 2.6 blocks per game. On paper, not quite at Kobe’s overall statistical level but anyone who paid close attention in games six and seven could assess this trophy quite differently. Boston led 3-2 in the series heading into game six, when Gasol dropped 17 points, 13 rebounds, nine assists, and shut down Kevin Garnett defensively in a Lakers blowout win. In the game seven war of attrition, Gasol finished with 19 points, 18 rebounds, and several drawn charges. It was a reputation making performance for the Spanish player previously labeled as “soft” and only fitting that Gasol finished the series with a clutch rebound. In comparison, Bryant had a game high 23 points in the Lakers win, along with 15 rebounds, but shot just 6-of-24 from the field. It’s unsurprising that the bigger star got Finals MVP but certainly not cut-and-dry.

3) Paul Pierce over Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett, 2008

It took an appropriately big effort from each member of the “Big Three” for the Celtics to hold off the Lakers in the 2008 NBA Finals. Garnett was the third leading scorer with 18.2 points per game, the rebounding leader at 13.0 per game, and the defensive anchor. Allen was the second leading scorer with 20.3 points per game, was third in rebounding, and provided the series’ signature performance. He led the way in game four, when the Celtics made a 25-point comeback to seize control of the series with a 3-1 lead. Allen played all 48 minutes of the game, finished with 19 points and nine rebounds, and provided the series’ signature moment, a crossover move and driving layup that sealed the contest. And though Pierce was Boston’s leading scorer for the series with 21.8 points per game, Allen and Garnett led the way in the clinching game six with 26 points each. It’s one case where an awarding of co-MVPs would seem perfectly appropriate, as the three superstars performed beautifully together to cap a distinguished season. Allen never won a major award in his NBA career, while Garnett took home Defensive Player of the Year in ’07-’08 to go along with his ’03-’04 league MVP trophy.

4) Magic Johnson over Jamaal Wilkes, 1982

The 1982 playoffs were a watershed moment for Johnson, whose burgeoning NBA career seemed already off the rails. Johnson had missed over half the ’80-’81 season with a knee injury and shouldered the blame for L.A.’s subsequent first round loss. The star point guard was then widely blamed when coach Paul Westhead was fired early in the ’81-’82 season. But Johnson made a full image rehabilitation in the 1982 postseason, flashing his affable smile while averaging a near triple-double in the Lakers’ NBA Finals victory over the 76ers. In a six game Lakers win, Johnson averaged 16.2 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 8.0 assists per game. Seemingly an open-and-shut Finals MVP case, but consider that Johnson was only fifth on the team in scoring. The 1982 Finals were also a cathartic performance for Wilkes, who averaged 19.7 points per game, had a team high 27 in the clinching game six, and provided terrific defense on Julius Erving. Wilkes had also performed poorly in the 1981 first round series loss and was playing through grief in ’81-’82 after the tragic death of his infant daughter. But the MVP and the hyped redemption went to Johnson, who would eventually add a third Finals MVP in 1987.

“For the first time since the inaugural award was handed out to Jerry West in 1969, a player from the losing NBA Finals team had a legitimate case for series MVP in 2015.”

5) Chauncey Billups over Rip Hamilton, 2004

Not only did the Pistons pull off a shocking upset of the Lakers in the 2004 NBA Finals, they ripped out their opponent’s hearts. In the subsequent offseason, Phil Jackson stepped down (temporarily), Karl Malone retired, and the tentative Kobe-Shaq marriage that fueled this dynasty came to an end. At the center of that triumph was Detroit’s team leader and catalyst Billups. The veteran point guard was already on his fifth team in seven seasons but no one questioned his worth after this series. Billups finished with 21.0 points and 5.2 assists per game and set the tone with 22 points in a game one Pistons upset. But once the series hit game three in Detroit, it was Hamilton who carried the way forward. Playing with a broken nose that forced him to wear a protective mask, Hamilton scored 31 points in game three, dropped 21 in the clinching game five, and averaged 21.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game in the series. Hamilton definitely had the stats advantage but Billups’ leadership likely earned him the razor thing edge here. This was an especially impactful decision, as that Finals MVP trophy might be the difference between Billups getting into the Hall of Fame and Hamilton falling short.

6) Dennis Johnson over Gus Williams, 1979

The 1979 championship was a true team effort for Seattle. They’re up there with the ’76-’77 Blazers and ’03-’04 Pistons as the only post-merger title teams without an entry in the top 50 of our all-time greatest player list. Johnson was arguably the best player on the roster, and his career output beyond this season certainly bore out that distinction. But the team’s title run also featured crucial performances from top rebounder Jack Sikma, defensive specialist John Johnson, and especially Williams, who was Johnson’s back court mate and Seattle’s leading scorer. Williams finished with 32 points in Seattle’s game one NBA Finals loss against the Bullets, then 23, 31, 36, and 23 in their four subsequent wins. Each of those totals was a team high, and Williams was also third on the Sonics in assists, with his fast break playmaking befitting his nickname “Wizard.” Only three other players besides Williams in the post-merger era led both NBA Finals teams in scoring for the series but was not named MVP, and those were Wes Unseld in 1978, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1980, and Kevin McHale in 1986. All three of those players, who were all-time greats in their own right, lost out on the trophy to first ballot Hall of Famers in Elvin Hayes, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird, respectively. Though Johnson was obviously a great player, it took 20 years after his career ended for him to be (posthumously) inducted into the Hall. A Finals MVP trophy would have arguably benefitted Williams’ career and legacy more than anyone else on this list. He almost certainly would have received more respect from Sonics management who otherwise lowballed him with a 1980 contract offer that caused Williams to sit out an entire season of his prime.

7) Andre Iguodala over LeBron James and Stephen Curry, 2015

For the first time since the inaugural award was handed out to Jerry West in 1969, a player from the losing NBA Finals team had a legitimate case for series MVP in 2015. It helps that the player was James, who will almost assuredly go down as one of the three greatest players in league history. Even more amazing is that Iguodala won the award over his teammate Curry, who was the reigning league MVP and posted demonstrably better stats than Iguodala in the series. After the Warriors finished off the series in six games, Curry didn’t even receive a single MVP vote, with Iguodala winning the award with seven votes over four for James. He became the first player ever to win Finals MVP after playing the majority of the season off the bench (Iguodala did start in three of the six NBA Finals games). Iguodala’s stats in the clinching game six were undeniably great, with 25 points, five rebounds, and five assists, but it was his defense on James that ultimately won him the prize. James struggled with his shooting from the floor with Iguodala hounding him, and his plus/minus stats were decidedly improved during the time that Iguodala was resting on the bench. But James still averaged nearly a triple-double for the series, with 35.8 points, 13.3 rebounds, and 8.8 assists per game, and single-handedly forced the series to six games without the services of the injured Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. It’s doubtful that we’ll ever see another losing player win Finals MVP again, as this was arguably the perfect situation for it to finally happen.

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