NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award - Wikipedia

National Basketball Association award Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP Award

Paul Pierce with his 2008 NBA Finals MVP trophy
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	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander(1st award)

The Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (formerly known as the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player) 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]

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, Nikola Jokić of Serbia, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of Canada 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, Duncan at Wake Forest, and Gilgeous-Alexander at Kentucky. 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]

Winners

[edit]

^	Denotes player who is still active in the NBA
*	Elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
§	1st time eligible for Hall of Fame in 2026[16]
‡	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

Year	Player	Position	Nationality	Team
1969	Jerry West*	Guard	United States	Los Angeles Lakers ‡
1970	Willis Reed*	Center/forward	United States	New York Knicks
1971	Lew Alcindor*[a]	Center	United States	Milwaukee Bucks
1972	Wilt Chamberlain*	Center	United States	Los Angeles Lakers (2)
1973	Willis Reed* (2)	Center/forward	United States	New York Knicks (2)
1974	John Havlicek*	Forward/guard	United States	Boston Celtics
1975	Rick Barry*	Forward	United States	Golden State Warriors
1976	Jo Jo White*	Guard	United States	Boston Celtics (2)
1977	Bill Walton*	Center	United States	Portland Trail Blazers
1978	Wes Unseld*	Center/forward	United States	Washington Bullets
1979	Dennis Johnson*	Guard	United States	Seattle SuperSonics
1980	Magic Johnson*	Guard	United States	Los Angeles Lakers (3)
1981	Cedric Maxwell	Forward	United States	Boston Celtics (3)
1982	Magic Johnson* (2)	Guard	United States	Los Angeles Lakers (4)
1983	Moses Malone*	Center	United States	Philadelphia 76ers
1984	Larry Bird*	Forward	United States	Boston Celtics (4)
1985	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar[a] (2)	Center	United States	Los Angeles Lakers (5)
1986	Larry Bird* (2)	Forward	United States	Boston Celtics (5)
1987	Magic Johnson* (3)	Guard	United States	Los Angeles Lakers (6)
1988	James Worthy*	Forward	United States	Los Angeles Lakers (7)
1989	Joe Dumars*	Guard	United States	Detroit Pistons
1990	Isiah Thomas*	Guard	United States	Detroit Pistons (2)
1991	Michael Jordan*	Guard	United States	Chicago Bulls
1992	Michael Jordan* (2)	Guard	United States	Chicago Bulls (2)
1993	Michael Jordan* (3)	Guard	United States	Chicago Bulls (3)
1994	Hakeem Olajuwon*	Center	United States[b]	Houston Rockets
1995	Hakeem Olajuwon* (2)	Center	United States[b]	Houston Rockets (2)
1996	Michael Jordan* (4)	Guard	United States	Chicago Bulls (4)
1997	Michael Jordan* (5)	Guard	United States	Chicago Bulls (5)
1998	Michael Jordan* (6)	Guard	United States	Chicago Bulls (6)
1999	Tim Duncan*	Forward/center	United States[c]	San Antonio Spurs
2000	Shaquille O'Neal*	Center	United States	Los Angeles Lakers (8)
2001	Shaquille O'Neal* (2)	Center	United States	Los Angeles Lakers (9)
2002	Shaquille O'Neal* (3)	Center	United States	Los Angeles Lakers (10)
2003	Tim Duncan* (2)	Forward/center	United States[c]	San Antonio Spurs (2)
2004	Chauncey Billups*	Guard	United States	Detroit Pistons (3)
2005	Tim Duncan* (3)	Forward/center	United States[c]	San Antonio Spurs (3)
2006	Dwyane Wade*	Guard	United States	Miami Heat
2007	Tony Parker*	Guard	France[d]	San Antonio Spurs (4)
2008	Paul Pierce*	Forward	United States	Boston Celtics (6)
2009	Kobe Bryant*	Guard	United States	Los Angeles Lakers (11)
2010	Kobe Bryant* (2)	Guard	United States	Los Angeles Lakers (12)
2011	Dirk Nowitzki*	Forward	Germany	Dallas Mavericks
2012	LeBron James^	Forward	United States	Miami Heat (2)
2013	LeBron James^ (2)	Forward	United States	Miami Heat (3)
2014	Kawhi Leonard^	Forward	United States	San Antonio Spurs (5)
2015	Andre Iguodala§	Forward/guard	United States	Golden State Warriors (2)
2016	LeBron James^ (3)	Forward	United States	Cleveland Cavaliers
2017	Kevin Durant^	Forward	United States	Golden State Warriors (3)
2018	Kevin Durant^ (2)	Forward	United States	Golden State Warriors (4)
2019	Kawhi Leonard^ (2)	Forward	United States	Toronto Raptors
2020	LeBron James^ (4)	Forward	United States	Los Angeles Lakers (13)
2021	Giannis Antetokounmpo^	Forward	Greece	Milwaukee Bucks (2)
2022	Stephen Curry^	Guard	United States	Golden State Warriors (5)
2023	Nikola Jokić^	Center	Serbia	Denver Nuggets
2024	Jaylen Brown^	Forward/guard	United States	Boston Celtics (7)
2025	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander^	Guard	Canada	Oklahoma City Thunder (2)

Multi-time winners

[edit]

Awards	Player	Team(s)	Years
6	Michael Jordan	Chicago Bulls	1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998
4	LeBron James	Miami Heat (2), Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers	2012, 2013, 2016, 2020
3	Magic Johnson	Los Angeles Lakers	1980, 1982, 1987
	Shaquille O'Neal		2000, 2001, 2002
	Tim Duncan	San Antonio Spurs	1999, 2003, 2005
2	Willis Reed	New York Knicks	1970, 1973
	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers	1971, 1985
	Larry Bird	Boston Celtics	1984, 1986
	Hakeem Olajuwon	Houston Rockets	1994, 1995
	Kobe Bryant	Los Angeles Lakers	2009, 2010
	Kevin Durant	Golden State Warriors	2017, 2018
	Kawhi Leonard	San Antonio Spurs, Toronto Raptors	2014, 2019

Teams

[edit]

Awards	Teams	Years
13	Los Angeles Lakers	1969, 1972, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2009, 2010, 2020
7	Boston Celtics	1974, 1976, 1981, 1984, 1986, 2008, 2024
6	Chicago Bulls	1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998
5	San Antonio Spurs	1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2014
	Golden State Warriors	1975, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2022
3	Detroit Pistons	1989, 1990, 2004
	Miami Heat	2006, 2012, 2013
2	New York Knicks	1970, 1973
	Houston Rockets	1994, 1995
	Milwaukee Bucks	1971, 2021
	Oklahoma City Thunder[i]	1979, 2025
1	Portland Trail Blazers	1977
	Washington Bullets	1978
	Philadelphia 76ers	1983
	Dallas Mavericks	2011
	Cleveland Cavaliers	2016
	Toronto Raptors	2019
	Denver Nuggets	2023
0	Atlanta Hawks	None
	Brooklyn Nets
	Charlotte Hornets
	Indiana Pacers
	Los Angeles Clippers
	Memphis Grizzlies
	Minnesota Timberwolves
	New Orleans Pelicans
	Orlando Magic
	Phoenix Suns
	Sacramento Kings
	Utah Jazz

1. ^ Includes championships as Seattle SuperSonics

See also

[edit]

• NBA Most Valuable Player Award
• NBA Conference Finals Most Valuable Player Award
• NBA All-Star Game Kobe Bryant Most Valuable Player Award

Notes

[edit]

1. ^ a b c Before the 1971–72 season, Lew Alcindor changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.[17]
2. ^ a b Hakeem Olajuwon was born in Nigeria, but became a naturalized United States citizen in 1993.[18]
3. ^ a b c Because Tim Duncan is a United States citizen by birth, as are all natives of the U.S. Virgin Islands,[19] he was able to play for the U.S. internationally.[20]
4. ^ Tony Parker was born in Belgium. He holds French citizenship and plays for their national team.[21]

References

[edit]

Specific

1. ^ "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.
2. ^ "Game 5 Notebook: Billups Wins MVP". NBA/Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on June 27, 2012. Retrieved July 16, 2008.
3. ^ "Spurs crowned NBA champions". CBC Sports. June 24, 2005. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved July 16, 2008.
4. ^ a b "Finals Most Valuable Player". NBA/Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on January 21, 2012. Retrieved July 14, 2008.
5. ^ "Magic Johnson Bio". NBA/Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on May 30, 2012. Retrieved October 21, 2010.
6. ^ Scott, Nate (June 16, 2014). "Kawhi Leonard is third youngest NBA Finals MVP ever". USA Today. Archived from the original on June 16, 2014.
7. ^ "Magic Johnson 1979–80 Game Log". basketball-reference. Archived from the original on May 7, 2013. Retrieved May 17, 2016.
8. ^ Dodson, Aaron (June 9, 2017). "On this day in NBA Finals history: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar becomes oldest Finals MVP". Andscape. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
9. ^ 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.
10. ^ "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.
11. ^ 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.
12. ^ "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.
13. ^ "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.
14. ^ 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.
15. ^ "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.
16. ^ "2025 Hall of Fame Candidates". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
17. ^ "Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Bio". NBA. Archived from the original on July 31, 2008. Retrieved August 4, 2008.
18. ^ "Hakeem Olajuwon Bio: 1992–93". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on May 16, 2008. Retrieved June 15, 2008.
19. ^ "Virgin Islands". CIA World Factbook. Archived from the original on January 13, 2021. Retrieved August 12, 2008.
20. ^ "All-Time USA Basketball Men's Roster: D". USA Basketball. Archived from the original on August 28, 2009. Retrieved June 16, 2008.
21. ^ "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.

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.

v t e NBA Finals Most Valuable Player

1969: West 1970: Reed 1971: Alcindor 1972: Chamberlain 1973: Reed 1974: Havlicek 1975: Barry 1976: White 1977: Walton 1978: Unseld 1979: D. Johnson 1980: M. Johnson 1981: Maxwell 1982: M. Johnson 1983: Malone 1984: Bird 1985: Abdul-Jabbar 1986: Bird 1987: M. Johnson 1988: Worthy 1989: Dumars 1990: Thomas 1991: Jordan 1992: Jordan 1993: Jordan 1994: Olajuwon 1995: Olajuwon 1996: Jordan 1997: Jordan 1998: Jordan 1999: Duncan 2000: O'Neal 2001: O'Neal 2002: O'Neal 2003: Duncan 2004: Billups 2005: Duncan 2006: Wade 2007: Parker 2008: Pierce 2009: Bryant 2010: Bryant 2011: Nowitzki 2012: James 2013: James 2014: Leonard 2015: Iguodala 2016: James 2017: Durant 2018: Durant 2019: Leonard 2020: James 2021: Antetokounmpo 2022: Curry 2023: Jokić 2024: Brown 2025: Gilgeous-Alexander

v t e NBA Finals
Champions Teams Players Coaches Most Valuable Player Brown Trophy O'Brien Trophy Championship ring Broadcasters Game sevens Droughts Streaks TV ratings
1940s	1947 1948 1949
1950s	1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
1960s	1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
1970s	1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
1980s	1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
1990s	1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
2000s	2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2010s	2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
2020s	2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026
See also: WNBA Finals

v t e National Basketball Association
EasternConference	Atlantic Boston Celtics Brooklyn Nets New York Knicks Philadelphia 76ers Toronto Raptors Central Chicago Bulls Cleveland Cavaliers Detroit Pistons Indiana Pacers Milwaukee Bucks Southeast Atlanta Hawks Charlotte Hornets Miami Heat Orlando Magic Washington Wizards
WesternConference	Northwest Denver Nuggets Minnesota Timberwolves Oklahoma City Thunder Portland Trail Blazers Utah Jazz Pacific Golden State Warriors Los Angeles Clippers Los Angeles Lakers Phoenix Suns Sacramento Kings Southwest Dallas Mavericks Houston Rockets Memphis Grizzlies New Orleans Pelicans San Antonio Spurs
Annual events	Draft eligibility Summer League Christmas All-Star weekend game Global Games Cup tournament Play-in Playoffs list Finals champions
History	Predecessors BAA NBL ABA merger dispersal draft Walter A. Brown Trophy Criticisms and controversies Malice at the Palace Donaghy betting scandal 2025 gambling prosecution Antitrust cases Haywood Robertson Lockouts Former divisions Eastern Midwest Western Teams defunct expansion relocated timeline Seasons 2019–20 suspension and bubble Records regular season postseason All-Star win–loss
People	Players current rosters Eastern Western foreign players race and ethnicity first overall draft picks highest paid banned or suspended NBPA Head coaches current player-coaches champions foreign female NBCA Owners Referees NBRA Commissioner Broadcasters
Awardsand honors	Larry O'Brien Trophy Maurice Podoloff Trophy All-NBA Team MVP Finals MVP All-Star MVP Hall of Fame Members Anniversary teams Retired numbers
Others	Arenas NBA ABA Business collective bargaining agreement jersey sponsors Motorola lawsuit salary cap NBA Store team valuations Culture cheerleading mascots dress code superteams sleep Pride Night G League Media TV NBA TV NBA Academy Rivalries WNBA
Basketball portal Category 2025–26 season