NBA Finals MVP Award: how it works and Hall of Fame
From the Hall of Fame to the ranking of players and franchises with more titles, all in one article!
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 |
| 2024 | Jaylen Brown | Boston Celtics |
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 | 7 |
| 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 |