Who Has the Most NBA Finals MVP?
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We all know that LeBron James is one of the greatest basketball players of all time. But does he have the most NBA Finals MVPs? Let’s take a look at the numbers.
Michael Jordan – 6
Michael Jordan holds the record for the most Finals MVPs, with six. He won his first in 1991, and then three in a row from 1996 to 1998. He also won in 2002 and 2006.
Magic Johnson – 3
Magic Johnson is a three-time NBA Finals MVP, having won the award in 1980, 1982, and 1987. He is also a five-time NBA champion, having won titles in 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, and 1988.
LeBron James – 3
LeBron James has the most NBA Finals MVPs with 3. He won his first in 2012 with the Miami Heat, and his second and third in 2016 and 2017 with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – 2
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is an American retired professional basketball player who played 20 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers. During his career as a center, Abdul-Jabbar was a record six-time NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP), a record 19-time NBA All-Star, a 15-time All-NBA selection, and an 11-time NBA All-Defensive Team member. A member of six NBA championship teams as a player and two more as an assistant coach, Abdul-Jabbar twice was voted NBA Finals MVP. In 1996, he was honored as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. NBA coach Pat Riley and players Isiah Thomas and Julius Erving have called him the greatest basketball player of all time.
As of April 2019, Abdul-Jabbar is the NBA’s all-time leader in regular season points scored, field goals made, field goal attempts, blocked shots, defensive rebounds, and minutes played. He is the only player to score 38,000 points in his career.,
Abdul-Jabbar has also been noted for his contributions off the court. In 2012, he was selected by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to be a U.S. global cultural ambassador.
Bill Russell – 2
Boston Celtics legend Bill Russell is the player with the most NBA Finals MVPs in history, having won the award a total of 2 times during his career. He first won it in 1957-58, when he averaged 21.9 points, 23.6 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game to lead the Celtics to a 4-0 sweep of the St. Louis Hawks in the Finals. Russell’s second and final MVP came in 1961-62, when he averaged 18.9 points, 23.6 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game as Boston defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in 7 games.
Shaquille O’Neal – 1
Shaquille O’Neal played for six teams over his 19-year career in the NBA, but it was with the Los Angeles Lakers that he had the most success. O’Neal was a member of the Lakers from 1996-2004, winning three straight NBA titles from 2000-2002. He was named the NBA Finals MVP each year, becoming just the fourth player in NBA history to win the award three times.
Dirk Nowitzki – 1
Dirk Nowitzki is a German former professional basketball player. An alumnus of the University of Texas at Austin, Nowitzki was selected as the ninth overall pick in the 1998 NBA draft by the Milwaukee Bucks and traded to the Dallas Mavericks, where he played his entire 21-season career. He is one of four players to have ever won an NBA MVP, an NBA Finals MVP, and an Olympic gold medal in the same year; he accomplished this feat in 2007. Nowitzki led the Mavericks to 15 NBA Playoffs, including 13 consecutive appearances from 2001–2013 and to 11 trips to the Western Conference Finals, winning their first NBA championship in 2011. He holds several shooting records and is widely regarded as one of the greatest power forwards. With a height of 7’0″ (2.13 m), he is also one of only seven players who have played at least 20 seasons while being taller than 6’9″. Nowitzki was honorably mention on All-NBA Defensive Teams three times and was named to both All-NBA Second Teams once during his career; his career average of 2.4 blocks per game ranks tenth among all players ever
Willis Reed – 1
Willis Reed is a retired American basketball player and coach. He spent his entire professional playing career with the New York Knicks, winning two NBA championships in 1970 and 1973. Reed was the first player in NBA history to be named Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player in the same season.[1] He was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History during the league’s 50th anniversary celebration in 1996, and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame that same year. In 1982, Reed was fibromyalgia diagnosed with
During his 10-year career, Reed averaged 21.1 points per game and 13.3 rebounds per game. He played in seven All-Star Games, won NBA Rookie of the Year honors, was named 1974 NBA MVP and led New York to their first ever NBA Championship victory in 1970. Willis Reed is a true champion and helped pave the way for future success of the New York Knicks franchise.
Jerry West – 1
Jerry West played 14 seasons in the NBA, all with the Los Angeles Lakers. He was a nine-time All-Star and was voted as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. He also won an NBA championship as a player in 1972.
As for Finals MVPs, West holds the record for the most by a player who never won the award outright. He was named Finals MVP in 1969, despite losing to the Boston Celtics in seven games. It was the only time that a player on the losing team has been named Finals MVP.
