5 times when a player from the losing team should have won the NBA Finals MVP award
The NBA Finals MVP award winner usually comes from the winning side, as the effort to help a team succeed in the NBA's biggest stage is naturally given more credence and recognition. However, Jerry West did win the award in its first year, back in 1969, after his team, the LA Lakers, fell to the Boston Celtics in a thrilling seven-game series.
In the 2015 NBA Finals between the eventual champions Golden State Warriors and LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers, 'The King' seemed to have a great case to win the award, even though his team lost.
In the 2021 NBA Finals, where the Phoenix Suns are leading 2-1, Giannis Antetokounmpo has arguably been the best player on the floor for the better part of the three games he has played so far. The Milwaukee Bucks' superstar has put up consecutive games with at least 40 points in Game 2 and 3. He is averaging 34 points and 14 rebounds so far, with an impressive 62.5% shooting efficiency from the field.
Instances when a player from the losing team could have won the NBA Finals MVP award
Giannis Antetokounmpo is also averaging around five assists, 1.3 steals and 1.3 blocks per game thus far. Could he be named the Finals MVP even if the Milwaukee Bucks lose? That remains be seen, as there is a lot of basketball to be played in the series.
Another NBA Finals MVP on the losing side of a series seems far-fetched and unrealistic in today's era. However, there have been instances in the past where a case could've been made in favor of a player on the losing side, especially when the winning team was filled with many contributors and valuable players.
On that note, let's have a look at the five instances when a player from the losing team in an NBA Finals series could've been named the Finals MVP award winner. Since the award has been existence since 1969, it goes without saying that anything before that has not been considered.
So without further ado, let's get started.
#5 Shaquille O'Neal - 2004 NBA Finals
Shaquille O'Neal won four championships and three Finals MVP awards during his extraordinary, dominant NBA career. He went six times to the NBA Finals and lost twice.
His first NBA Finals appearance came with the Orlando Magic in 1995, but Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets swept Shaq's team. The second time a Shaq team fell in the NBA Finals was in 2004, when the well-rounded, defensive-minded Detroit Pistons took down the LA Lakers down.
Chauncey Billups was named the Finals MVP after that series ended, but there was a case for O'Neal to have won the award, even after his team lost the series. Billups averaged 21 points and five assists in the series, but it was Richard Hamilton who led Detroit in scoring, averaging 21.4 points.
Meanwhile, Shaquille O'Neal averaged 26.6 points and 10.8 rebounds per game while shooting 63.1% from the field. The blemish in Shaq's case, apart from losing the series 4-1, is that he made only 49.1% of his free throws in the series.
However, he averaged more than 25 points per game with efficiency against a team that allowed only one player to average over 20 points per game throughout the first three rounds of the postseason. Richard Jefferson shot 42% from the field in the second round.
The other player apart from Shaq to average over 20 points per game against that Pistons team led by four-time DPOY winner Ben Wallace was Kobe Bryant in the NBA Finals, but he made only 38% of his field goals in the series.
#4 Jerry West - 1970 NBA Finals
Jerry West won the inaugural NBA Finals MVP award in 1969 after his LA Lakers team fell to Bill Russell and the Boston Celtics once again. West played fabulously in the series, averaging 37.9 points, 4.7 rebounds and 7.4 assists while being the only Lakers player to register over 20 points a night.
He also had a 42-point triple-double in Game 7, registering 13 rebounds and 12 assists. The next year, West could've become a two-time Finals MVP award winner, even though his LA Lakers team lost again in the NBA Finals.
In the 1970 Finals against the New York Knicks, Willis Reed and Walt Frazier led a miraculous comeback to thwart West, who had another historic performance in an NBA Finals series.
West averaged 31.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 7.7 assists per game in that seven-game loss. He also shot 45% from the field and was instrumental in all three wins for the LA Lakers in that series, especially in Game 4, when LA tied the series riding on 37 points and 18 assists from West.
Reed won the Finals MVP award for his inspiring effort in Game 7, returning to action after missing Game 6 with a thigh injury from which he had not fully recovered.