NBA Players Who Won The NBA Championship, MVP Award, And Finals MVP In The Same Season: Michael Jordan Did It Four Times

Throughout the course of an NBA career, earning an MVP award and Finals MVP award can be the icing on the cake for a lot of players’ careers. Being an MVP means that for an entire season, a player meant more to his team than any other player did for theirs. It means that the player put up league-leading numbers leading to undeniable team success. Winning a Finals MVP can mean even more because it means on the NBA’s biggest stage, that player rose to the occasion above everyone else and led their team to an NBA championship. For most, it would mean the world to earn these awards just once at different times in their careers. The players below are on a different plain. 

The players below are the ones that won an NBA Championship, the MVP award, and the Finals MVP award in their careers, of course. What separates them from the rest is that they did it in the same season. This feat has only been accomplished 15 times by 10 different players in NBA history. These near-perfect seasons are what made these players known as some of the greatest players in NBA history and cemented their place toward the top of the NBA’s hierarchy. Among these players, you will see only three players accomplish this more than once, and only one player who did it more than twice. These players truly are the best of the best in NBA history.

These are the NBA players who won the NBA championship, MVP award, and Finals MVP in the same season. 

Willis Reed – 1969-70 Season

Willis Reed was one of the game’s best players, even as a rookie who earned All-Star appearances in his first seven seasons of play. With the Knicks, Reed became a legend helping them win two NBA championships during the 1970s and walking away with both Finals MVP awards in the process. The first of these championship seasons came in 1969-70, Reed’s sixth overall. During the regular season, Reed would average 21.7 PPG and 13.9 RPG while playing great interior defense and leading the Knicks to 60 wins on the year. Redd was awarded MVP in a close race, with Jerry West winning by a total of 41.0 points.

In the NBA playoffs, the Knicks would get through a few adversaries before Reed and West, along with Wilt Chamberlain, faced off in the NBA Finals. The series was a great one, with Reed having monster games in Game One and Game Three to give the Knicks a 3-2 series lead. An injury to Reed cost him Game Six, where Wilt Chamberlain took advantage and forced a Game Seven. Initially thought to be out of the decisive Game Seven, Reed stormed out onto the court to the roar of Madison Square Garden and knocked down his first two shots before heading to the bench. The spark gave Walt Frazier all he needed as he would lead the Knicks to their first NBA title. Reed was named Finals MVP with 23.0 PPG, 10.5 RPG, and a heck of a defensive job on Chamberlain.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – 1970-71 Season

One year after Reed became the first player in NBA history to win both awards in the same season, it looked like it could become a normal occurrence as it happened once again in Milwaukee. Kareem Abdu-Jabbar was coming off a stellar rookie season, averaging 28.8 PPG and 14.5 RPG, taking home the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award. Kareem decided to follow that up with an incredible 1971 campaign that saw the Bucks add Oscar Robertson for support. Kareem would explode, winning the NBA’s scoring title with 31.7 PPG and grabbing 16.0 RPG. The Bucks would go 66-16 on the season, and Kareem would run away easily with the MVP award.

In the playoffs, the Bucks defeated the Warriors in five games in the first round and followed that up by doing the same to the Lakers in the Conference Finals. In the Finals, the Bucks were set up to face the Baltimore Bullets led by Earl Monroe and Wes Unseld, which was no easy task. However, the Bucks would make it look that way by sweeping the Bullets in four games with Kareem leading the way. He would average 27.0 PPG and 18.5 RPG for the series which included a monster 27-point, 24-rebound performance in Game Two. He was named Finals MVP, and the Bucks were world champions for the very first time.

Moses Malone – 1982-83 Season

By the time Moses Malone reached the 76ers in 1982, he was already a two-time MVP with the Rockets, including the year before he was dealt in 1981-82. The Sixers were a team desperately trying to get over the championship hum for their star Julius Erving after many failed attempts in the Finals. Adding Malone was a godsend for Philadelphia, who would go 65-17 on the season behind Malone’s 24.5 PPG, 15.3 RPG, 1.1 SPG, and 2.0 BPG. The Sixers were finally favorites to get through the gauntlet that was the playoffs and Finals, and only they could stand in their own way now.

Malone and the Sixers would sweep the Knicks in the second round after receiving a first-round bye and defeat the Bucks in five games in the Conference Finals. This set up a rematch of the 1982 Finals between the Sixers and Lakers, with Malone being the outlier this time around. The Sixers would destroy the Lakers in a four-game sweep led by Malone’s ferocious effort on both ends of the court. He was named Finals MVP of the series with 25.8 PPG, 18.0 RPG, 1.5 SPG, and 1.5 BPG on 50.7% shooting from the field.

Larry Bird – 1983-84 Season

Three years prior to the 1983-84 season, the Boston Celtics won the NBA championship fueled by a young kid named Larry Bird. However, not named Finals MVP at that time, Bird would soon go on a tear that would leave little to no doubt as to who was the man on the 80s Celtics. In 1983-84, Bird and the Celtics would get back to their winning way once again. Bird would average 24.2 PPG, 10.1 RPG, 6.6 APG, and 1.8 SPG. The Celtics would win 62 games led by Bird, Robert Parish, and Kevin McHale, and Bird would win the MVP award by nearly 300.00 points over Bernard King. 

The Celtics would make easy work of the Bullets in the first round of the playoffs that season, but they were pushed to seven games in the second round by the Knicks. After escaping that series, they faced off with the Bucks in the Conference Finals, who they defeated in five games for a spot in the Finals against the Lakers. The feud between Bird and Johnson was already raging, and a matchup in the NBA Finals enhanced it ten-fold. The series would be a bloodbath that lasted seven games and further added to the historic rivalry between Boston and Los Angeles. The Celtics would escape Game Seven with a win, and this time Bird was named the most outstanding player in the series and awarded his first Finals MVP award. He averaged 27.4 PPG, 14.0 RPG, 2.1 SPG, and 1.1 BPG for the series.

Larry Bird – 1985-86 Season

At this point, the Boston Celtics had been to two consecutive NBA Finals and won one NBA championship. On an individual note, Larry Bird had been named MVP in both the 1984 and 1985 seasons, looking for his third MVP award in a row, a rare occurrence throughout NBA history. The Celtics would make 1985-86 look like a cakewalk accumulating 67 wins to just 15 losses in the regular season. A big reason for that was the leadership and production they got from Larry Bird, who secured his third MVP in a row with 25.8 PPG, 9.8 RPG, 6.8 APG, and 2.0 SPG. 

The Celtics were now looking for a third straight NBA Finals appearance as they headed into the playoffs. They would sweep the Bulls, led by Michael Jordan, in the first round and defeat the Hawks in five games in the second round. They would then sweep the Bucks in the Conference Finals and faceoff with the Rockets, who had just taken down the Lakers in the West. Bird and the Celtics would make this NBA championship run complete with a victory and win the NBA championship in six games over Houston. Bird put in an all-time Finals performance with 24.0 PPG, 9.7 RPG, 9.5 APG, and 2.7 SPG for his second Finals MVP award.

Magic Johnson – 1986-87 Season

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABC66DY_e8o

By the time the 1986-87 season rolled around, Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers were already three-time NBA champions. Magic had already been named a Finals MVP as well but was still looking for his first MVP award. The Lakers would help his cause during the 1986-87 season as they won 62 games and had the top-rated offense in basketball. Magic was the engine that made the Lakers go, and he was finally rewarded with the MVP award averaging 23.9 PPG, 6.3 RPG, and a league-leading 12.2 APG in 80 appearances.

The Lakers rolled to the NBA playoffs and swept the Denver Nuggets in the first round in three games. They would take care of the Warriors in five games and sweep Seattle in the Conference Finals. It set up yet another date with the Celtics in the Finals and another all-time great matchup between Magic and Larry Bird. The Lakers would dismiss the Celtics in six games this time, with Magic walking away with his third Finals MVP award as he led the Lakers in scoring with 26.2 PPG while dishing out 13.0 APG and snatching 2.3 SPG. The Lakers had won their fourth title of the decade and would add their fifth in 1988 as well.

Michael Jordan – 1990-91 Season

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AbIkcballk

When the 90s decade began, it was put up or shut up time for Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. Jordan was a tremendous individual talent who had won scoring titles and MVP awards, as well as a host of other awards but could never deliver a championship. This all began to change in 1990-91 when Jordan reached a new level. Jordan would lead the Bulls to 61 wins and be awarded his second MVP award averaging 31.5 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 5.5 APG, and 2.7 SPG. Jordan and the bulls were once again primed for a playoff run, but this time, the results would be different.

The Bulls, led by Jordan, would go 7-1 over their first two playoff rounds eliminating the Kicks and 76ers along the way. They would finally get over the much-hated Detroit Pistons hump and sweep them out of the playoffs in the Conference finals. The victory meant Jordan’s first chance at an NBA championship. In the series, Jordan and the Bulls would take on Magic and the Lakers, a matchup fans had long waited to see. Jordan was clearly the best player on both ends of the court as the Bulls ran through the Lakers in five games. Jordan would win his first Finals MVP with 31.2 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 11.4 APG, 2.8 SPG, and 1.4 BPG.

Michael Jordan 1991-92 Season

The feeling was so nice the first time Jordan decided he would try and become just the second player to ever win both the Finals MVP and MVP in the same season twice, joining Larry Bird as the other. The Bulls were set on winning again, and Jordan would make sure they got to that point. Jordan would once again win the MVP award as the Bulls won 67 games and finished with the best record in the NBA. He won MVP averaging 30.1 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 6.1 APG, and 2.3 SPG. Once again, Jordan and the Bulls proved to be the favorites heading into the playoffs.

The Bulls would sweep the Heat in the first round, followed by a hard-fought seven-game win in round two over the Knicks. In the Conference Finals, the Bulls would dismiss the Cavaliers in six games setting up a matchup with the Trail Blazers in the NBA Finals. The matchup saw Jordan and Clyde Drexler compared as equals before it started, a comparison Jordan took exception to and shattered in the six games that followed. The Bulls would go on to win their second straight NBA championship, led by their superstar Michael Jordan who claimed Finals MVP with 35.8 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 6.5 APG, and 1.7 SPG.

Hakeem Olajuwon – 1993-94 Season

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3LIzFcpdSo

Hakeem Olajuwon is one of the greatest big men in NBA history. He is certainly one of the greatest players that ever stood seven feet tall, and he proved that during the 90s when he led the Houston Rockets to back-to-back NBA Finals wins in 1994 and 1995. Michael Jordan had just abruptly left the game, and the NBA was desperately seeking out its next star. Olajuwon would step up to the occasion in 1994 by leading the Rockets to a 58-24 record. He would be named MVP for the first time in his career with averages of 27.3 PPG, 11.9 RPG, 1.6 SPG, and 3.7 BPG.

The Rockets would make their way through the Western Conference by taking down Portland in four games, Phoenix in seven games, and Utah in five games to advance to the NBA Finals against the New York Knicks. The series was a battle between Olajuwon and New York big man Patrick Ewing that came down to a decisive seventh game. The Rockets would emerge victorious as NBA champions, and Hakeem would be named the Finals MVP when it was all said and done. He earned the first of two Finals MVPs by averaging 26.9 PPG, 9.1 RPG, 1.6 SPG, and 3.9 BPG.

Michael Jordan – 1995-96 Season

The 1995-96 NBA season marked a time in NBA history when history would be made. After coming back for 17 games in 1994-95 and the playoffs, Jordan was back with the Bulls for a full season. They would also add troubled rebounding guru Dennis Rodman who was also a defensive nightmare. Jordan would have a ridiculous season that saw the Bulls win 72 games out of 82, and Jordan took home his fourth MVP award. He would win his eighth scoring title with 30.4 PPG and also added 6.6 RPG, 4.3 APG, and 2.2 SPG.

The road to the NBA Finals would be almost just as easy. They would sweep the Heat in round one and defeat the Knicks in five games in round two. They would sweep the Orlando Magic in the Conference Finals, setting up a date with the Seattle SuperSonics in the NBA Finals. The SuperSonics, led by Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp, would fight valiantly in the series but fall in six games to the greatest player that ever lived. Jordan claimed his fourth NBA title and Finals MVP award with 27.3 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 4.2 APG, and 1.7 SPG.

Michael Jordan – 1997-98 Season

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJvvbqAnXKw

After being robbed of MVP in 1997, Jordan took his frustration out on the Jazz in the 1997 NBA Finals. Now, with news swirling about the breakup of the Bulls and his pals Phil Jackson and Scottie Pippen on their way out, Jordan had a new purpose for his team in 1998. At first, the team struggled without Scottie Pippen on the court but quickly figured things out and ended up winning 62 games and first in the East once again. Jordan won his fifth and final MVP award with 28.7 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 3.5 APG, and 1.7 SPG.

In the NBA playoffs, it was pretty much seen as inevitable that Chicago and Utah were bound to meet again in the NBA Finals. The two teams would do just that, but this time, many media pundits had tabbed this as the year that the Bulls finally fell to someone and that someone was going to be the Utah Jazz. This was not to be as Jordan and the Bulls defeated Utah in six games as Jordan delivered the final signature moment as a member of the Bulls, a game-winning jumper over Utah’s Bryon Russell with 5.2 seconds remaining in the game. Jordan was named Finals MVP for a record sixth time as he averaged 33.5 PPG, 4.0 RPG, and 1.8 SPG.

Shaquille O’Neal 1999-00 Season

After Jordan left the game, seemingly for good this time, the NBA was wide open for the first time in decades. The Spurs would claim the 1999 title, and in 2000, a new dominant force in the NBA emerged as the best player in basketball. Shaquille O’Neal was beginning a dominant stretch that would see him lead the Lakers to three straight NBA championships with three straight Finals MVP awards. In 2000, Shaq would lead the Lakers to 67 wins behind a dominant stretch of basketball that was capped off with the only MVP award win of his career. He averaged 29.7 PPG, 13.6 RPG, and 3.0 BPG to claim the award.

In the playoffs, the Lakers seemed like they were destined to take home the crown as O’Neal and a young Kobe Bryant led them to an 11-5 record over their first three rounds, eliminating the Blazers, Kings, and Suns in the process. In the Finals, the Lakers were set to match up with the Indiana Pacers led by Reggie Miller. The Lakers would win the series in six games for their first championship since 1988, with O’Neal bulldozing his way through the competition. He claimed Finals MVP honors with 38.0 PPG, the fourth most in NBA Finals history, 16.7 RPG, and 2.7 BPG.

Tim Duncan – 2002-03 Season

When the 2002-03 season began, fans and players around the NBA all wondered the same thing. Who, if anybody, was going to stop the Lakers from claiming a fourth straight NBA championship? Tim Duncan and the Spurs had already accomplished this back in 1999 when they won their first NBA championship and were determined to do it again in 2003. The Spurs would win 60 games in 2002-03 and be prepared for anything the playoffs threw at them. Duncan was named MVP for the 2002-03 season with 23.3 PPG, 12.9 RPG, and 2.9 BPG.

The Spurs would use the full effect of the seven-game series in each of their four rounds in the NBA playoffs. They defeated the Suns, Lakers, and Mavericks in six games each as they worked their way to another NBA Finals appearance, where they would take on the New Jersey Nets. Duncan and the Spurs would win this series in six games also, with Duncan nearly recording a quadruple-double in Game Six. Duncan was named Finals MVP with 24.2 PPG, 17.0 RPG, 5.3 APG, 1.0 SPG, and 5.3 BPG.

LeBron James – 2011-12 Season

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsSVTG-gz_8

It had been 10 seasons since a player had won both the MVP award and Finals MVP award in the same season when the 2011-12 season started. LeBron James was coming off his most embarrassing defeat ever in the 2011 Finals to the Dallas Mavericks as a member of the Miami Heat. James would not be stopped during the regular season as he, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh would lead them to 46 wins in a 66-game season. James was declared the MVP for the third time in his career with 27.1 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 6.2 APG, and 1.9 SPG as he hit both his offensive and defensive peak as a player.

The playoffs were no different than their regular season dominance. They defeated the Knicks in five games and the Pacers in six games in their first two series. They needed seven games to take down the Celtics in the Conference Finals, which set up a date with the Thunder in the NBA Finals. In the series, all eyes were on James and Kevin Durant of the Thunder as the two met up on the big stage for the first time. James and the Heat would make easy work of the Thunder, only conceding one game out of five played for James’ first NBA championship. He was also able to grab his first Finals MVP with 28.6 PPG, 10.2 RPG, 7.4 APG, and 1.6 SPG.

LeBron James – 2012-13 Season

Following up on his first NBA championship, LeBron James and the Heat were ready to defend their title by any means necessary. The regular season looked good for the most part, with James playing the best basketball he ever has on both sides of the ball. He even narrowly missed out on a Defensive Player of the Year award he probably deserved. James led the Heat to 66 wins, their best season ever, and took home his fourth MVP award with 26.8 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 7.3 APG, and 1.7 SPG.

The Heat would go 8-1 over their first two playoff series eliminating the Bucks and Bulls in easy fashion. In the Conference Finals, the Heat would be pushed to the brink of elimination by the Pacers and would eventually make the Finals in seven games. This set up a date with the San Antonio Spurs in the Finals. It was one of the most exciting Finals series in recent memory, with Ray Allen saving the day in Game Six and getting a decisive win in Game Seven for their second straight NBA title. James was once again named Finals MVP with 25.3 PPG, 10.9 RPG, 7.0 APG, and 2.3 SPG. 

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