Which player has the worst finals record in NBA history?
The Milwaukee Bucks are preparing to host Game 6 of the 2021 NBA Finals and are now one win away from winning their first NBA title in 50 years. The rosters of both teams combined don't have a single former champion and this NBA Finals has marked the first time since 1971 to not have a player who has won a championship. Also, except for Jae Crowder of the Phoenix Suns, no player on either roster has even been to an NBA Finals before.
Many people believe this is the first of many NBA Finals appearances for the Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo and Suns' Devin Booker. One of the NBA Finals' all-time greats, the LA Lakers' LeBron James sat courtside for Game 5. He has a record of 4-6 in the NBA Finals, the third-most losses in NBA history.
Which player has the worst NBA Finals record?
As bad as 6 NBA Finals losses look on LeBron James' resume, it isn't nearly as bad as "The Logo" himself, Jerry West. West's LA Lakers made the NBA Finals a whopping 9 times in 14 seasons and unfortunately lost 8 of those 9 appearances. He made the NBA Finals in 1962, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1972 and 1973. He won the Finals MVP despite being on the losing team in 1969 after averaging 37.9 points per game and dropping 53 points with 10 assists in Game 1 of the series.
Jerry West's LA Lakers lost their first six NBA Finals to the Bill Russell-led Boston Celtics from 1962 to 1969. They lost again in the 1970 and 1973 NBA Finals to the New York Knicks. Jerry West captured his first NBA title in 1972 alongside Wilt Chamberlain, defeating the New York Knicks in a reverse sweep of five games.
With a 1-8 record, Jerry West has the worst NBA Finals record of all time. The person second on the list is his former teammate Elgin Baylor with seven finals losses.
Also Read: 5 players with the highest points per game (PPG) in an NBA Finals series