The Finals MVP Award (Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award) has been awarded to the best player of the NBA Finals since 1968-69 season.
In 2009 assumed the name of Bill Russell, Boston Celtics’ legendary player and 11-time championship winner, who leads the all-time ranking.
Little facts about Finals MVP Award:
- Jerry West, first winner of the trophy, is the only awarded player from the team which lost the Final Series (in 1969 the Lakers were defeated by the Celtics);
- since 2011 the Award has been won only by forwards. The last guard awarded was Kobe Bryant in 2010 with the Lakers;
- the youngest MVP Finals winner is Magic Johnson in 1980 (20 years old);
- Tony Parker (in 2007) and Dirk Nowitzki (in 2011) are the only foreign players awarded;
- Michael Jordan is the most MVP Finals awarded player (6);
- Los Angeles Lakers is the franchise with most awarded players (13).
NBA Finals MVP Winner
| Year | Player | Team |
| 1969 | Jerry West | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 1970 | Willis Reed | New York Knicks |
| 1971 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | Milwaukee Bucks |
| 1972 | Wilt Chamblerain | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 1973 | Willis Reed | New York Knicks |
| 1974 | John Havlicek | Boston Celtics |
| 1975 | Rick Barry | Golden State Warriors |
| 1976 | Jo Jo White | Boston Celtics |
| 1977 | Bill Walton | Portland Trail Blazers |
| 1978 | Wes Unseld | Washington Bullets |
| 1979 | Dennis Johnson | Seattle Supersonics |
| 1980 | Magic Johnson | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 1981 | Cedric Maxwell | Boston Celtics |
| 1982 | Magic Johnson | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 1983 | Moses Malone | Philadelphia 76ers |
| 1984 | Larry Bird | Boston Celtics |
| 1985 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 1986 | Larry Bird | Boston Celtics |
| 1987 | Magic Johnson | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 1988 | James Worthy | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 1989 | Joe Dumars | Detroit Pistons |
| 1990 | Isiah Thomas | Detroit Pistons |
| 1991 | Michael Jordan | Chicago Bulls |
| 1992 | Michael Jordan | Chicago Bulls |
| 1993 | Michael Jordan | Chicago Bulls |
| 1994 | Hakeem Olajuwon | Houston Rockets |
| 1995 | Hakeem Olajuwon | Houston Rockets |
| 1996 | Michael Jordan | Chicago Bulls |
| 1997 | Michael Jordan | Chicago Bulls |
| 1998 | Michael Jordan | Chicago Bulls |
| 1999 | Tim Duncan | San Antonio Spurs |
| 2000 | Shaquille O’Neal | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 2001 | Shaquille O’Neal | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 2002 | Shaquille O’Neal | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 2003 | Tim Duncan | San Antonio Spurs |
| 2004 | Chauncey Billups | Detroit Pistons |
| 2005 | Tim Duncan | San Antonio Spurs |
| 2006 | Dwyane Wade | Miami Heat |
| 2007 | Tony Parker | San Antonio Spurs |
| 2008 | Paul Pierce | Boston Celtics |
| 2009 | Kobe Bryant | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 2010 | Kobe Bryant | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 2011 | Dirk Nowitzki | Dallas Mavericks |
| 2012 | LeBron James | Miami Heat |
| 2013 | LeBron James | Miami Heat |
| 2014 | Kawhi Leonard | San Antonio Spurs |
| 2015 | Andre Iguodala | Golden State Warriors |
| 2016 | LeBron James | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| 2017 | Kevin Durant | Golden State Warriors |
| 2018 | Kevin Durant | Golden State Warriors |
| 2019 | Kawhi Leonard | Toronto Raptors |
| 2020 | LeBron James | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 2021 | Giannis Antetokounmpo | Milwaukee Bucks |
| 2022 | Steph Curry | Golden State Warriors |
| 2023 | Nikola Jokic | Denver Nuggets |
NBA Finals MVP Multiple-awarded Players
| # | Player | Awards | Years |
| 1 | Michael Jordan | 6 | 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998 |
| 2 | LeBron James | 4 | 2012, 2013, 2016, 2020 |
| 3 | Magic Johnson | 3 | 1980, 1982, 1987 |
| Shaquille O’Neal | 3 | 2000, 2001, 2002 | |
| Tim Duncan | 3 | 1999, 2003, 2005 | |
| 6 | Willis Reed | 2 | 1970, 1973 |
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 2 | 1971, 1985 | |
| Larry Bird | 2 | 1984, 1986 | |
| Hakeem Olajuwon | 2 | 1994, 1885 | |
| Kobe Bryant | 2 | 2009, 2010 | |
| Kevin Durant | 2 | 2017, 2018 | |
| Kawhi Leonard | 2 | 2014, 2019 |
NBA Finals MVP Multiple-awarded Franchises
| # | Franchise | Awards |
| 1 | Los Angeles Lakers | 13 |
| 2 | Boston Celtics | 6 |
| Chicago Bulls | 6 | |
| 4 | San Antonio Spurs | 5 |
| 5 | Golden State Warriors | 3 |
| 6 | Detroit Pistons | 3 |
| Miami Heat | 3 | |
| 8 | New York Knicks | 2 |
| Houston Rockets | 2 |
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Author: Martina Marangi
June 13, 2023 | 2:03 am
