It can be argued convincingly that the Finals MVP award is the most prestigious individual award that can be given out by the NBA. Receiving the Finals MVP means that, for one series at least, a player was directly responsible for an NBA championship being delivered to their city. Debuting in 1969, the Finals MVP is usually given to a player from the winning team of the NBA Finals and the player who had the biggest impact on the championship-winning team usually wins the award. Now, it can be argued that the award has gone to the wrong person in the past, so today, we lay out the context for you to decide where that rings true.
Just as we did with the MVP winners recently, we will be placing these Finals MVP winners in tiers based on how many they won in their careers. These Finals MVP winners raised their game to the most elite of levels on the NBA’s biggest stage resulting in a performance immortalized by the NBA’s highest honor. As we make our way up the pyramid, the names and legacies get bigger and shine brighter, and the Finals MVP award has a lot to do with it.
These are the Finals MVP winner ranked by tiers.
Tier 6 – 1 Finals MVP Award
Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain, John Havlicek, Rick Barry, Jo Jo White, Bill Walton, Wes Unseld, Dennis Johnson, Cedric Maxwell, Moses Malone, James Worthy, Joe Dumars, Isiah Thomas, Chauncey Billups, Dwyane Wade, Tony Parker, Paul Pierce, Dirk Nowitzki, Andre Iguodala, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry
Usually, the best player on the winning team in the NBA Finals is honored with the Finals MVP award when it is all said and done. That was not the case for Jerry West in his only win in the inaugural season of the Finals MVP being given out. West won the award for his performance in the 1969 NBA Finals, in which his Lakers fell to the Boston Celtics in seven games. The voters felt West was the best player on the court, with 37.9 PPG, 4.7 RPG, and 7.4 APG. He scored 42 points in a 108-106 Game 7 loss as well.
Wilt Chamberlain might have won two Finals MVP awards in his career if the award had existed when he won his first championship with the Sixers in 1967. He was able to secure the award in 1972 with the Lakers when they faced their biggest rival of the early 70s, the New York Knicks. Chamberlain would lead the Lakers to a five-game dominant win over the Knicks, averaging 19.4 PPG, 23.2 RPG, and 2.3 APG. In Game 5 to close it out, Wilt recorded 24 points and 29 rebounds in a 14-point victory.
John Havlicek is one of the greatest small forwards of all time and a big reason for that standing in his eight NBA championships with the Celtics in the 60s and 70s. Of these eight championships, Hondo was only able to grab one Finals MVP in 1974, which was the seventh championship of his career. In a hard-fought series with the Milwaukee Bucks and the duo of Kareem and Oscar Robertson, the Celtics prevailed in seven games. Havlicek averaged 26.4 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 4.7 APG, and 1.9 SPG for the series, which included 16 points, nine rebounds, and six assists in Game 7.
Rick Barry’s back-and-forth career to the ABA and back to the NBA robbed him of a ton of spots in the NBA record books. One of those spots could have been with more than one Finals MVP seeing as he made the Warriors a contender instantly when he took the court. Proof of this is the 1975 NBA Finals, where Barry’s Warriors took on the Washington Bullets. Barry would have one of the highest-scoring Finals ever when he averaged 29.5 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 5.0 APG, and 3.5 SPG in a four-game sweep of Washington.
In 1976, the Boston Celtics found themselves in familiar territory as they advance to yet another NBA Finals. This time, they would be taking on the Phoenix Suns. You would think Celtics star and MVP Dave Cowens would be the one taking home the Finals MVP award in any winning scenario for Boston in this series, but an unlikely hero stepped forward to deliver the championship back to Beantown. Jo Jo White, a fifth-year All-Star point guard, would be the one who shined brightest in the six-game defeat of the Suns. White averaged 21.7 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 5.8 APG, and 1.5 SPG for the series to win his one and only Finals MVP award.
The story of Bill Walton is an unfortunate one, as he and Maurice Lucas formed a dominant frontcourt in the late 1970s. Walton’s career would take a monstrous hit due to injuries but not before he and Lucas would deliver the one and only championship ever won by the Portland Trail Blazers. The Trail Blazers would win their championship over Julius Erving and the 76ers in 1978, with Walton doing a bit of everything on the court. He averaged 18.5 PPG, 19.0 RPG, 5.2 APG. 1.0 SPG, and 3.7 BPG. Walton’s dominant defensive display earned him Finals MVP honors before suffering career-altering injuries the following season.
Wes Unseld is another all-time great center who was able to win one Finals MVP award in his career. Unseld’s moment came in the 1978 NBA Finals against the Seattle SuperSonics. At first glance, Unseld’s numbers do not seem worthy of Finals MVP honors, as he averaged just 9.0 PPG and 11.7 RPG. The truth is, although the numbers weren’t spectacular, the true value of his defensive and rebounding impact could not be measured by simply the stat sheet. Unseld was awarded Finals MVP, and the Bullets were champions for the only time in their franchise’s history.
The following season, in 1979, the SuperSonics and Bullets would meet again in the NBA Finals. This time, the SuperSonics overwhelmed the Bullets and steamrolled them in five games. This whooping was led by Dennis Johnson and Gus Williams, who were far too much for Washington’s defense. Williams led the team in scoring with 29.0 PPG, but Johnson did a little bit of everything to earn Finals MVP honors. Johnson put together 22.6 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 6.0 APG, 1.8 SPG, and 2.2 BPG, dismantling the Bullets on both sides of the ball. This would be the last time that the Seattle SuperSonics won an NBA championship in their existence.
Before the three-headed monster of Kevin Mchale, Larry Bird, and Robert Parish took over Boston in the 1980s, the Celtics found themselves in the NBA Finals in 1981. Bird would put together a fantastic series to help the Celtics win their first championship since 1976, but another star would be named Finals MVP. In Game 5, Cedric Maxwell would lead the Celtics to victory with 28 points and 15 rebounds and take a 3-2 series advantage. He would also add 19 points, five rebounds, and six assists in Game 6 to seal the championship in Boston’s favor. Maxwell would be named Finals MVP, although many claimed Bird should be the recipient.
As the 1983 NBA season approached, the Philadelphia 76ers made the busiest splash of the offseason, trading for reigning MVP Moses Malone. Moses would reward the Sixers for the move with an MVP season and their fourth run to the NBA Finals. In a rematch against the mighty Showtime lakers, Philadelphia dominated behind Malone’s scoring and rebounding outbursts mixed with elite interior defense. The Sixers would sweep the Lakers in four games, with Malone averaging 25.8 PPG, 18.0 RPG, 1.5 SPG, and 1.5 BPG to win his first and only Finals MVP.
James Worthy was always an unsung hero for the Showtime Lakers during the 1980s. Worthy was a rookie when the Lakers were swept by Philadelphia in four games and won a championship as the third wheel behind Magic and Kareem in 1985. As 1988 rolled around, the Lakers were looking for their fifth title since 1980, having won the season before in 1987. This time around, it would be Worthy’s time to shine as the Lakers found themselves back in the Finals against the Bad Boy Pistons. Worthy went ballistic in the series, but more importantly, took over Game 7 to win the title for the Lakers. He recorded 36 points, 16 rebounds, and 10 assists to win the championship and draw first blood in their Finals rivalry with Detroit.
The Pistons would exact their revenge in 1989 when they took on the Lakers in the Finals for the second straight season. This time, Detroit left no room for the Lakers to get comfortable as they ended up ending the series emphatically in four games. Joe Dumars would be named the MVP of this four-game sweep with 27.3 PPG and 6.0 APG for the series. Dumars would play a big role in their appearance in the NBA Finals for the third straight year in 1990, but another Detroit guard would be the star.
Isiah Thomas had made a case to be the Finals MVP in 1989, but in 1990, he would leave no doubt about it. Thomas and the Pistons became the NBA’s greatest villains during this time and battered the competition during the season and playoffs to get back to the NBA Finals. Thomas and the Pistons would meet Portland in the Finals this time around and once again made the series look easy. Thomas and Detroit would wrap up the championship in five games, with Thomas averaging 27.6 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 7.0 APG, and 1.6 SPG. He led Detroit in scoring, assists, and steals to win the Finals MVP for the first and only time.
The next one-time Finals MVP award winner is yet another Detroit Pistons guard who led a defensive team on the offensive side of the ball. Chauncey Billups was an underrated point guard of the 2000s who served as the leader and catalyst for a 2004 NBA championship. The Pistons had a tall task in the NBA Finals against the three-time NBA champion Lakers. The Pistons took advantage of an out-of-sync Lakers team to shock them in five games to win an NBA championship. Billups would win Finals MVP averaging 21.0 PPG, 5.2 APG, and 1.2 SPG, marking the biggest accomplishment of his underrated NBA career.
In 2006, Dwyane Wade was a third-year budding star out of Marquette playing for the Miami Heat. The Heat knew after just one season that all Wade needed was another piece, and they added Shaq heading into 2004-05, and the rest is history. In the 2006 NBA Finals against the Mavericks, the Heat fell down 2-0 in the series. Wade would answer the call to lead Miami to four straight wins to claim their first NBA title in franchise history. Wade would have 36 points in Game 4, 43 points in Game 5, and 36 points again in Game 6 to clinch the championship for Miami and earn a well-deserved Finals MVP honor.
The San Antonio Spurs dynasty that came to fruition during the 2000s was always known as Tim Duncan and Gregg Popovich’s team. As they approached the NBA Finals in 2007, that appeared to be true but it would be an unlikely star stepping up and showing out in the NBA Finals against the Cavaliers. The Spurs roster completely overwhelmed LeBron James and the Cavaliers as they would sweep them in four games to win their fourth title since 1999. Tony Parker would be the leading scorer in the rout with 24.5 PPG. With such a well-rounded roster, the Finals MVP had to be Parker, who was the only 20.0 PPG scorer for San Antonio in the series.
The following season, it would be the Boston Celtics who made the NBA’s biggest splash of the offseason and acquired both Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett in trades to join forces with Paul Pierce. The Celtics were on a collision course with their rival Lakers for a shot at the NBA championship, and that is exactly the matchup we got in 2008. The overwhelming talent of Boston was far too much for the Lakers, as the Celtics would win the series in six games. Pierce led Boston in scoring with 21.8 PPG and added 4.5 RPG, 6.3 APG, and 1.2 SPG to claim Finals MVP honors.
The 2001 Dallas Mavericks pulled off one of the greatest playoff runs in NBA history in 2011 to win their first NBA championship. The entire effort was from a great team, but one man led the entire way, and that man was Dirk Nowitzki. When the Mavericks met the Big 3 Miami Heat in the Finals in 2011, nobody gave them much of a chance. Nowitzki had something to say about that as he led the Mavericks to four straight wins and the championship after falling down 2-1 in the series. Nowitzki averaged 26.0 PPG and 9.7 RPG to win Finals MVP and put a stamp on his claim as one of the greatest power forwards in NBA history.
In 2015, the Golden State Warriors were just beginning to build the dynasty we know them as today. Stephen Curry was starting to evolve into the greatest shooter ever, and Klay Thomspon and Draymond Green were filling out their roles to perfection. The Warriors would meet the Cavaliers in the first of four straight meetings in the NBA Finals in 2015, but it wouldn’t be any of the previously mentioned Warriors walking away with Finals MVP honors. The series would go six games as LeBron James did all he could do to keep Cleveland in it. That is until Golden State Warriors met him with Andre Iguodala in clutch moments to slow him down. Against Iguodala, James had little success, and this defensive effort led directly to an NBA title for the Warriors and a Finals MVP for Iguodala.
The last two Finals MVP winners have both been first-timers, with the Finals in 2021 kicking things off. Coming into the series, there were major concerns about Giannis Antetokounmpo’s health amid a gruesome-looking knee injury suffered in the previous round. He quickly put those concerns to bed as he led Milwaukee to their first championship in 50 years with one of the best Finals performances ever. Giannis led the Bucks to four straight wins after falling down 2-0 in the series, which included a 50-point game to close out the series in Game 6. Overall, he averaged 35.2 PPG, 13.2 RPG, 5.0 APG, 1.2 SPG, and 1.8 BPG to win Finals MVP.
The final member of Tier Six and the player fans feel should have more than just one Finals MVP is Stephen Curry. In all three of the Warriors’ previous championships, Curry had performances worthy of Finals MVP consideration, especially in 2015. The 2022 Warriors weren’t supposed to compete for the NBA championship, and most had considered their dynasty over. Curry had other plans as he led Golden State to their fourth championship in eight years over the Boston Celtics. Curry would enter elite territory averaging 31.2 PPG, 6.0 RPG, and 5.0 APG in the six-game series. He did this while shooting 43.7% from three on 71 attempts in the series. He also shot 48.2% overall and 85.7% from the foul line.
Tier 5 – 2 Finals MVP Awards
Willis Reed, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Larry Bird, Hakeem Olajuwon, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard
The list of two-time Finals MVP award features some of the best big men and wings in NBA history. The first of those is Willis Reed, who became a two-time Finals MVP in 1970 and 1973 with the New York Knicks. Reed’s better series in which he won the award was by far the 1970 series win over the Lakers. He averaged 23.0 PPG, 10.5 RPG, and 1.8 APG in the win, which they captured in seven games over Jerry West and Wilt Chamberlain.
The next two-time winner of the Finals MVP on our list is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Formerly the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, Kareem won both of his Finals MVPs 14 years apart, in 1971 with the Bucks and in 1985 with the Lakers. Kareem’s more decorated performance is definitely the first one with the Bucks when he led them to a four-game sweep of the Baltimore Bullets. Kareem averaged 27.0 PPG and 18.5 RPG to seal the series for Milwaukee before winning five more championships with the Lakers in the 80s.
Larry Bird helped the Celtics win three championships during the 1980s, and he won three straight MVP awards from 1984 thru 1986. In two of those seasons, Bird would also take home two Finals MVP awards in wins over the Lakers and Rockets in 1984 and 1986. His better all-around performance came in 1986 when the Celtics took down the Rockets in six games. Bird averaged 24.0 PPG, 9.7 RPG, 9.5 APG, and 1.7 SPG to seal the series for Boston and win his second Finals MVP.
Hakeem Olajuwon is one of the best defenders and most skilled centers in NBA history. Propelling him to that status were his performances in both the 1994 and 1995 NBA Finals against two other Hall of Fame big men. In 1994, Olajuwon took down Patrick Ewing and the Knicks in seven games to win his first NBA championship and Finals MVP award with 26.9 PPG, 9.1 RPG, and 3.9 BPG. In 1995, Hakeem took down Shaq and the Orlando Magic in four games to claim back-to-back titles. He also claimed back-to-back Finals MVPs with 32.8 PPG, 11.5 RPG, 5.5 APG, 2.0 SPG, and 2.0 BPG.
Kobe Bryant went through a lot of turmoil during the 2000s to prove that he could win with the Lakers without the side of Shaquille O’Neal. After falling in the Finals in 2008, Kobe would not be denied another chance as he led the Lakers to the Finals against the Orlando Magic. Bryant and the Lakers would annihilate the Magic in five games, with Kobe’s first Finals MVP coming from 32.4 PPG, 5.6 RPG, and 7.4 APG in the series. Kobe would get revenge for his 2008 Finals loss in 2010 when he and the Lakers met the Celtics once again in the Finals. Kobe would lead Los Angeles to victory in seven games, this time averaging 28.6 PPG, 8.0 RPG, and 2.1 SPG.
The next member of Tier Five is a man who many hate to this day for his two Finals MVP wins. Kevin Durant pulled a league-altering move when he joined the Warriors for the 2017 season, making a clash with LeBron James and the Cavaliers inevitable for the next two years. In their first meeting, Durant and the Warriors cruised to a five-game win, with Durant averaging 35.2 PPG, 8.2 RPG, and 5.4 APG. The following season, the series would not be close as the Warriors, led by Durant, would sweep Cleveland in four games this time. Durant won Finals MVP with 28.8 PPG, 10.8 RPG, and 7.5 APG.
The final member of this tier with two Finals MVP awards is Kawhi Leonard. His Finals MVP wins are a tale of two different scenarios. In 2014, Leonard was named Finals MVP for his defensive efforts on Lebron James during the Spurs’ drubbing of the Heat in the NBA Finals. After a few more seasons with San Antonio, Leonard spent one season with the Toronto Raptors in 2019. That season, he would go on an improbable run to the NBA Finals and deliver the Raptors’ first NBA championship. His second Finals MVP came with 28.5 PPG, 9.8 RPG, 4.2 APG, 2.0 SPG, and 1.2 BPG.
Tier 4 – 3 Finals MVP Awards
Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, Tim Duncan
Only five men in the history of the NBA have won at least three Finals MVP awards in their careers, and they truly are the elite of the elite at their positions. The first player with three Finals MVP awards happens to be Magic Johnson, who is the greatest point guard ever and a five-time NBA champion. Magic became the youngest winner of the Finals MVP award in his rookie season when he led the Lakers to an NBA title over the 76ers. He would add two more Finals MVPs in 1982 and 1987 while making Lakers basketball the biggest attraction in league history up to that point.
The next player to claim three Finals MVP awards did it in a three-peat of NBA championships from 2000 thru 2002. Shaquille O’Neal was the most dominant force in the NBA in the early 2000s and claimed an MVP award and scoring title at this time too. O’Neal would lead the Lakers to championship wins over the Pacers, Sixers, and Nets during this time, dismantling every opponent that got in his way. He is one of the highest-scoring Finals MVPs in NBA history and owns one of the highest PPG by a Finals MVP ever, with 38.0 PPG in 2000.
The final player to win three Finals MVPs in his career was Shaq’s biggest adversary in the 2000s, Tim Duncan. When Duncan arrived in 1998, the Spurs were automatically NBA title contenders, and in a lockout-shortened 1999, he would lead them to their first NBA championship ever. Duncan would also claim two more Finals MVP awards in 2003 and 2005 when the Spurs defeated the Nets and Detroit Pistons. Duncan’s 2003 Finals is one of the best Finals MVP performances ever, when he averaged 24.2 PPG, 17.0 RPG, 5.3 APG, 1.0 SPG, and 5.3 BPG. That season, he became one of the few players in NBA history to win MVP, an NBA championship, and Finals MVP in the same season.
Tier 3 – 4 Finals MVP Awards
LeBron James
As we move on to the most elite members of the Finals MVP winners throughout NBA history, we arrive at the feet of the two greatest players in NBA history. LeBron James has done everything he can to build the strongest case for the GOAT over the last 20 years, aside from the man who sits alone at number one. James has led three different franchises to NBA championships while claiming four Finals MVP awards and making 10 Finals appearances in his career. His best and most iconic performance came in 2016 when he led the Cavaliers back from the dead over a Warriors team that had won 73 games and built a 3-1 series lead on them. James sparked a monumental comeback and claimed his third Finals MVP award.
Tier 2- 5 Finals MVP Awards
No Player Qualifies For This Tier
Tier 1 – 6 Finals MVP Awards
Michael Jordan
Only one man in NBA history has claimed the Finals MVP more than five times in his career, and that man is Michael Jordan. Jordan and his Chicago Bulls controlled the NBA for most of the 1990s as he won scoring titles, MVP awards, and just about every other accolade you can think of. What made Jordan’s dominance so unique is that he led the Bulls to two separate three-peats as NBA champions. From 1991 thru 1993, the Bulls defeated the Lakers, Trail Blazers, and Suns for their first three titles. From 1996 thru 1998, Jordan and the Bulls defeated the SuperSonics and Jazz twice to win numbers four thru six. Jordan was able to lead Chicago to six NBA Finals appearances, and six NBA championships, and never saw a Game 7 on the big stage. If that is not enough to be proclaimed the greatest basketball player ever, along with his NBA-record six Finals MVPs, then I do not know what will be enough.
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