Kobe Bryant is one of the greatest players of all time. Playing in the NBA for 20 years, Kobe Bryant achieved enormous success during his career, winning numerous NBA championships and putting on some of the greatest performances in the history of the league.
And Kobe Bryant’s last 2 NBA championship wins actually allowed him to make history in the NBA, something that hasn’t been done since him. Kobe Bryant is the last non-forward player to win Finals MVP. Since then, only forwards have been able to win the NBA Finals MVP trophy, such as Dirk Nowitzki, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Andre Iguodala, Kevin Durant, and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Kobe Bryant is the last non forward to win finals MVP 🐐 🏆 pic.twitter.com/kgNZRQTcXt
— Real Talk 🏀 (@_RealSportzTalk) March 23, 2022
Bryant is the last guard to have won the Finals MVP trophy, which is truly surprising, given how guard-oriented the NBA has become, with players like Stephen Curry, Kyrie Irving, Luka Doncic, Damian Lillard, and Ja Morant becoming superstars and some of the biggest players in the league.
A 2-way wing player has become the prototype for the best player in the league now, so it isn’t too much of a surprise that the players mentioned above have been the only ones to win the Finals MVP trophy since Kobe Bryant. But there are some exceptions, especially considering how pivotal Stephen Curry was to the Warriors’ 2015 NBA Championship win, he had a great argument to be named the Finals MVP.
Perhaps this season, we could see a guard become Finals MVP, with players like Ja Morant, Devin Booker, Stephen Curry, Chris Paul, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving playing for teams that are expected to make a championship run this season.
Given the quality of the names mentioned above, if any of their teams are able to go all the way and win the NBA championship, there would be a fair argument for any of these players to win the Bill Russell Finals MVP trophy.
