NBA Finals Most Valuable Player award
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The Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player award (formerly known as the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player award) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1969 NBA Finals. The award is decided by a panel of eleven media members, who cast votes after the conclusion of the Finals. The person with the highest number of votes wins the award.[1] The award was originally a black trophy with a gold basketball-shaped sphere at the top, similar to the Larry O'Brien Trophy, until a new trophy was introduced in 2005.[2][3]
| Sport | Basketball |
|---|---|
| League | National Basketball Association |
| Awarded for | Most valuable player of the NBA Finals |
| History | |
| First award | 1969 |
| Most wins | Michael Jordan (6 awards) |
| Most recent | Jaylen Brown (1st award) |
Since its inception, the award has been given 55 times to 34 players. Michael Jordan is a record six-time award winner.[4] LeBron James has won the award four times in his career, and Magic Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal, and Tim Duncan won three times each. Jordan and O'Neal are the only players to win the award in three consecutive seasons (Jordan accomplished the feat on two occasions). Johnson is the only rookie ever to win the award,[5] as well as the youngest at 20 years and 276 days old.[6][7] In 1985, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar became the oldest to win at 38 years and 54 days old.[8] Andre Iguodala is the only winner to have not started every game in the series.[9] Jerry West, the first awardee (1969), is the only person to win the award while being on the losing team.[4]
Willis Reed, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar,[a] Larry Bird, Hakeem Olajuwon, Kobe Bryant, Kawhi Leonard and Kevin Durant won the award twice. Olajuwon, Durant, Bryant, and James have won the award in two consecutive seasons. James is the only player to have won the award with three different teams,[10] while he and Leonard are the only players to have won the award in both conferences.[11] Johnson, Moses Malone, Durant, and Leonard are the only players to have been named Finals MVP in their first season with a team.[12] Olajuwon of Nigeria (who became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1993), Tony Parker of France, Dirk Nowitzki of Germany, Giannis Antetokounmpo of Greece, and Nikola Jokić of Serbia are the only international players to win the award. Duncan is an American citizen, but is considered an "international" player by the NBA because he was not born in one of the fifty states or Washington, D.C.[13] Parker, Nowitzki, Antetokounmpo and Jokić are the only winners to have been trained totally outside the U.S.; Olajuwon played college basketball at Houston and Duncan at Wake Forest. Cedric Maxwell is the only Finals MVP winner eligible for the Hall of Fame who has not been voted in.[14]
On February 14, 2009, during the 2009 NBA All-Star Weekend in Phoenix, then-NBA Commissioner David Stern announced that the award would be renamed the "Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award" in honor of 11-time NBA champion Bill Russell.[15]
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| ^ | Denotes player who is still active in the NBA |
| * | Elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame |
| † | Not yet eligible for Hall of Fame consideration[b] |
| § | Player's team lost the NBA Finals |
| Player (#) | Denotes the number of times the player had received the Finals MVP award |
| Team (#) | Denotes the number of times a player from this team has received the Finals MVP award |
- ^ a b c Before the 1971–72 season, Lew Alcindor changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.[16]
- ^ A player is not eligible for induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame until he has been fully retired for three calendar years.
- ^ a b Hakeem Olajuwon was born in Nigeria, but became a naturalized United States citizen in 1993.[17]
- ^ a b c Because Tim Duncan is a United States citizen by birth, as are all natives of the U.S. Virgin Islands,[18] he was able to play for the U.S. internationally.[19]
- ^ Tony Parker was born in Belgium. He holds French citizenship and plays for their national team.[20]
General
- "Finals Most Valuable Player". NBA/Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on January 21, 2012. Retrieved July 14, 2008.
- "Finals Most Valuable Players". ESPN. Archived from the original on October 25, 2012. Retrieved July 15, 2008.
Specific
- ^ "Kevin Durant Wins 2017 NBA Finals MVP After Winning 1st Title with Warriors". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on January 1, 2021. Retrieved June 17, 2017.
- ^ "Game 5 Notebook: Billups Wins MVP". NBA/Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on June 27, 2012. Retrieved July 16, 2008.
- ^ "Spurs crowned NBA champions". CBC Sports. June 24, 2005. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved July 16, 2008.
- ^ a b "Finals Most Valuable Player". NBA/Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on January 21, 2012. Retrieved July 14, 2008.
- ^ "Magic Johnson Bio". NBA/Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on May 30, 2012. Retrieved October 21, 2010.
- ^ Scott, Nate (June 16, 2014). "Kawhi Leonard is third youngest NBA Finals MVP ever". USA Today. Archived from the original on June 16, 2014.
- ^ "Magic Johnson 1979–80 Game Log". basketball-reference. Archived from the original on May 7, 2013. Retrieved May 17, 2016.
- ^ Dodson, Aaron (June 9, 2017). "On this day in NBA Finals history: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar becomes oldest Finals MVP". Andscape. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
- ^ Strauss, Ethan Sherwood (June 16, 2015). "Andre Iguodala named Finals MVP after coming off bench to begin series". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on June 18, 2015.
- ^ "LeBron James makes history, wins Finals MVP with 3 different franchises". NBA.com. October 11, 2020. Archived from the original on January 1, 2021. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
- ^ Windhorst, Brian (June 14, 2019). "Kawhi 1st to win Finals MVP in both conferences". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on January 1, 2021. Retrieved March 30, 2019.
- ^ "Kawhi Leonard joins elite company in winning Finals MVP". NBA.com. June 14, 2019. Archived from the original on January 1, 2021. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
- ^ "Bargnani becomes first European top NBA draft pick". People's Daily Online. June 29, 2006. Archived from the original on October 11, 2012. Retrieved June 16, 2008.
- ^ Spears, Marc J. (June 17, 2013). "Danny Green's rise from role player to NBA Finals juggernaut isn't the first of its kind". Yahoo! Sports. Archived from the original on January 1, 2021. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
- ^ "The Finals MVP to Receive Bill Russell MVP Award". NBA/Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. February 14, 2009. Archived from the original on February 17, 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2009.
- ^ "Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Bio". NBA. Archived from the original on July 31, 2008. Retrieved August 4, 2008.
- ^ "Hakeem Olajuwon Bio: 1992–93". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on May 16, 2008. Retrieved June 15, 2008.
- ^ "Virgin Islands". CIA World Factbook. Archived from the original on January 13, 2021. Retrieved August 12, 2008.
- ^ "All-Time USA Basketball Men's Roster: D". USA Basketball. Archived from the original on August 28, 2009. Retrieved June 16, 2008.
- ^ "Parker will be speedy foe for Nets". Sports Illustrated. Time Warner Company. June 2, 2003. Archived from the original on November 3, 2012. Retrieved October 17, 2010.