NBA Finals Most Valuable Player
The National Basketball Association Finals Most Valuable Player Award is presented to the player who has exhibited exceptional play during an NBA Finals series. The award typically goes to a player on the winning team, though when it was first awarded to Jerry West in 1969, his Los Angeles Lakers' team lost to the Boston Celtics. This was the only year that the award went to a player whose team did not win the championship.
The award was originally a black trophy with a gold basketball-shaped sphere at the top, similar to the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy, until a smaller trophy was introduced in 2005 and presented to the Finals MVP, Tim Duncan. The most recent trophy winner is Duncan's teammate Tony Parker.
All-time award winners
The following is a list of the All-time Finals Most Valuable Players.[1] Michael Jordan has won the award 6 times to lead all players. Magic Johnson is the youngest player and only rookie to be named the Finals MVP at the age of 20 years in the 1980 NBA Finals. The only three non-American-born stars to win the award are Hakeem Olajuwon (Nigeria in 1994 and 1995), Tim Duncan (Virgin Islands in 1999, 2003 and 2005) and Tony Parker (France in 2007), although Parker was the only awardee not to be an American citizen at the time of his awarding, in fact Duncan plays for the United States team in international competition, rendering him ineligible to represent the Virgin Islands.I like pie
† = Losing Team
Multiple honors
Players
| No. | Player |
|---|---|
| 6 | Michael Jordan |
| 3 | Tim Duncan |
| Shaquille O'Neal | |
| Magic Johnson | |
| 2 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar |
| Larry Bird | |
| Hakeem Olajuwon | |
| Willis Reed |
Teams
| No. | Team |
|---|---|
| 10 | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 6 | Chicago Bulls |
| 5 | Boston Celtics |
| 4 | San Antonio Spurs |
| 3 | Detroit Pistons |
| 2 | Houston Rockets |
| New York Knicks |
See also
- National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player Award
- National Basketball Association All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award
External links
References
- ^ nba.com, Finals Most Valuable Player, accessed June 15, 2007.
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