Has an NBA Finals MVP Ever Been on the Losing Team?

We take a look at whether an NBA Finals MVP has ever been on the losing team, and what the stats say about it.

Introduction

In the history of the NBA, there have been a total of 34 different players who have been named Finals MVP. Out of those 34 players, only 5 have been on the losing team in the finals.

Those 5 players are:
– Jerry West (1972)
– Rick Barry (1975)
– James Worthy (1988)
– Shaquille O’Neal (1995)
– Kobe Bryant (2010)

What is the NBA Finals MVP?

The NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) 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 player with the highest number of votes wins the award. The most recent recipient of the award is Kawhi Leonard of the Toronto Raptors.

A Brief History of the NBA Finals MVP

The NBA Finals MVP is a relatively new award, first given out in 1969. In the 52 years since then, there have been some amazing individual performances in the NBA Finals. However, due to the nature of basketball, the award has almost always gone to a player on the winning team. In fact, in the 52-year history of the award, only three players have won the Finals MVP while playing on the losing team: Jerry West in 1969, Rick Barry in 1967, and Elgin Baylor in 1962.

Interestingly, all three of those players are considered to be among the greatest players in NBA history. West is a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame and is widely considered one of the best shooting guards of all time. Baylor is also a Hall of Famer and is considered one of the best small forwards ever to play the game. Barry is not currently in the Hall of Fame, but many believe he should be due to his standout career which included an NCAA Championship, an ABA Championship, and an NBA Championship.

Has an NBA Finals MVP Ever Been on the Losing Team?

Michael Jordan is the only player in NBA history to win the Finals MVP award while playing for the losing team. He did it twice. In 1997 and 1998, Jordan averaged a triple-double in the Finals while leading the Chicago Bulls to victory against the Utah Jazz.

1971 NBA Finals

The 1971 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA)’s 1970–71 season, and the conclusion of the season’s playoffs. The Western Conference champion Milwaukee Bucks played against the Eastern Conference champion Baltimore Bullets, with the Bucks holding home-court advantage. They won the best-of-seven series 4 games to 0 to win their first NBA championship. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was named Finals MVP, becoming the first player to win both that award and the regular season MVP in the same year.

1978 NBA Finals

In 1978, the NBA Finals MVP was awarded to Dennis Johnson of the Seattle SuperSonics, even though his team lost to the Washington Bullets. Johnson was the first (and so far only) player to receive the award while playing on the losing team.

1984 NBA Finals

The 1984 NBA Finals was the championship round of the National Basketball Association (NBA)’s 1983–84 season, and the culmination of the season’s playoffs. The Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics defeated the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers, four games to three. The Finals MVP was Celtics guard Dennis Johnson. His performance in Game 5 earned him such honors, despite erasing a 34-point Lakers lead.

Conclusion

The answer to this question is yes, an NBA Finals MVP has indeed been on the losing team. In fact, it has happened on three occasions. The first instance was in 1968 when Jerry West of the Los Angeles Lakers was named MVP despite his team losing to the Boston Celtics in seven games. Similarly, in 1969 and 1970, Willis Reed of the New York Knicks and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar of the Milwaukee Bucks were named MVP after their respective teams lost in seven games to the Lakers and Baltimore Bullets.