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, as no losing player has earned the award since. A 35-year-old Russell averaged 9.1 points and 21.1 rebounds in the series, along with his usual incredible defense on Wilt Chamberlain. Meanwhile, John Havlicek was Boston’s leading scorer with 23.8 points and 11.0 rebounds per game. It’s hard to argue against the decision but also disapponting that Russell wasn’t awarded in maybe his gutsiest performance. Havlicek would eventually win Finals MVP in 1974.
2) Kobe Bryant over Pau Gasol, 2010
Statistics theoretically tell the story in this decision. Bryant averaged 28.6 points per game in the series, a full 10 points higher than the next player from either team. But that next player was his teammate Gasol, who put together an impressive all-around performance with 18.6 points, 11.6 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 2.6 blocks per game. On paper, this was arguably still Bryant’s award but anyone who paid close attention to the Lakers wins in games six and seven might assess differently. Gasol dropped 17 points, 13 rebounds, and nine assists in game six, while shutting down Kevin Garnett defensively. In game seven, 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 appropriately took a huge 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 made an all-timer highlight reel play, 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 was already at risk of going off the rails. The young superstar had shouldered the blame both for the Lakers’ first round upset loss in 1981 and the subsequent controversial firing of coach Paul Westhead. 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. Seemingly an open-and-shut Finals MVP case but consider that Johnson, with 16.2 points per game, was only fifth on his team in scoring. The 1982 Finals were also a redemptive and cathartic performance for Wilkes, who had struggled in the 1981 first round loss and was playing through grief after the recent death of his infant daughter. Wilkes averaged 19.7 points per game, including a team high 27 in the clinching game six, and provided terrific defense on Julius Erving. But the MVP and the hyped redemption went to Johnson, who added a third Finals MVP trophy 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
It was certainly a feel good story, with Billups earning Finals MVP after playing for five different teams in his first seven NBA seasons. No one questioned his worth again after this series, where the Pistons point guard averaged 21.0 points and 5.2 assists per game in a shocking upset of the Lakers. He set the tone in game one, dropping a team high 22 points in a Pistons upset in Los Angeles, and led Detroit in scoring with 27 points in a game two loss. But from game three on, it was Hamilton’s series. Playing with a broken nose that forced him to wear a protective mask, Hamilton scored 31 points in game three and 21 points in the clinching game five. He ultimately averaged 21.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game in the series, giving him the decisive statistic advantage over Billups. But Billups’ leadership likely earned him the razor thin edge here. This was an especially impactful decision as it may be the difference maker in Billups getting inducted into the Hall of Fame and Hamilton being left out.
6) Dennis Johnson over Gus Williams, 1979
Only four players in the post-merger era have led their team in NBA Finals scoring but were not named series MVP. Those were Elvin Hayes in 1978, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1980, Kevin McHale in 1986, and Williams in 1979. A Finals MVP trophy would have benefitted Williams’ career and legacy much more than those other three legends, possibly even getting him inducted years ago into the Naismith Hall of Fame. This is no knock on Johnson, who played brilliantly in this series, averaging 22.6 points, 6.0 assists, and 6.0 rebounds per game while shutting down the Bullets’ guards defensively. But Williams finished with 32 points in the game one loss against the Bullets, then 23, 31, 36, and 23 in Seattle’s four subsequent wins. Each of those totals was a team high, and Williams was also third on the Sonics in assists. In addition to his Hall of Fame induction prospects, a Finals MVP trophy likely would have earned Williams the respect from Sonics management that he deserved. Instead, the team lowballed him with 1980 contract offer, causing 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 went to Jerry West in 1969, a player from the losing team had a legitimate case for Finals MVP in 2015. James 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. But in the final tally, Iguodala received seven Finals MVP votes over James’ four, and became the first player ever to earn the trophy after playing the majority of the season off the bench. 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. Even more surprising than James not earning the Finals MVP was Iguodala’s superstar teammate and reigning league MVP Curry not receiving a single vote. Curry outpaced Iguodala in the series in scoring (26.0 points per game to 16.3), assists (6.3 per game to 4.0), and steals (1.8 per game to 1.3), and even kept it close in rebounding (5.2 per game to 5.8).
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