After one of the longer breaks in recent memory, the 2024 NBA Finals have finally arrived. The Boston Celtics will battle the Dallas Mavericks for the crown. There is so much at stake and the two teams present a fascinating matchup. The series has all the ingredients necessary to be an all-timer if things break right for us fans.
One of the many, many subplots that will begin starting at tip-off is who will win the Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP award. Both teams just want to win a title, but earning Finals MVP is a further immortalization of one player's name. Additionally, it is the kind of measure used to decide legacy conversations and Hall of Fame inductions down the line. The fine details of this Celtics-Mavericks series will be forgotten years down the line, but whoever brings home the Finals MVP trophy will always be remembered for the play that earned it.
Oftentimes the choice is clear-cut. The best player from the winning team is usually in pole position to take home the honor because, well, when the best player plays well their team usually wins. Last year, for example, Nikola Jokic earned the honor after averaging 24.5 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 9.8 assists per contest in the Denver Nuggets' five-game series win over the Miami Heat.
Other times, a role player will work their way into consideration with an outstanding sequence of games. The best example of that in recent memory is 2015 Finals MVP Andre Iguodala, who averaged all of 7.8 points per game but played excellent defense on LeBron James in the Golden State Warriors' first championship win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
But how does it all work? Here's everything you need to know about NBA Finals MVP voting heading into this year's exciting title bout.
Every year, the Finals MVP is determined by 11 media members chosen ahead of the series. After the final game, those 11 individuals will cast their vote for who they feel is the most deserving Finals MVP. The Finals MVP voters are usually a grouping of respected reporters from national and international brands along with local institutions. By polling 11 media members, there's no chance for a tie, either.
Last year, for example, the voters were: Sam Amick of The Athletic, Malika Andrews of ESPN, Doris Burke of ESPN Radio, Miguel Candeias of Portugal's A Bola, Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo! Sports, Mark Jackson of ESPN/ABC, Shaun Powell of NBA.com, Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press, Mike Singer of the Denver Post, Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel, and Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.
The voters for the 2024 NBA Finals will be unveiled after the final game but it's safe to assume it will be a similar ratio of assorted reporters from the print, broadcast, and digital coverage world.
The first NBA Finals MVP award was given to Jerry West of the Los Angeles Lakers. Interestingly, West was actually on the losing side of that Finals too, the only instance of a losing player earning Finals MVP in the history of the NBA. Every player since has won both the Finals and the Finals MVP.
In sum total, 55 Finals MVP awards have been given out to 34 players. Michael Jordan, to the surprise of nobody, holds the all-time record with six Finals MVP trophies. Behind him is LeBron James, who has won four.
From 1969 to 2008, the Finals MVP trophy did not have an official title. However, in the middle of the 2008-'09 season, the NBA announced the Finals MVP trophy was now to be named after Bill Russell. Thus, the Bill Russell Finals MVP Award was born; the first winner was Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers, earning the honor after defeating the Orlando Magic in the Finals that year.
Below you'll find a complete list of all the NBA Finals MVP winners, from West in '69 to Jokic last year.
FINALS MVP WINNER
YEAR
TEAM
Jerry West
1969
Los Angeles Lakers
Willis Reed
1970
New York Knicks
Lew Alcindor
1971
Milwaukee Bucks
Wilt Chamberlain
1972
Los Angeles Lakers
Willis Reed
1973
New York Knicks
John Havilcek
1974
Boston Celtics
Rick Barry
1975
Golden State Warriors
Jo Jo White
1976
Boston Celtics
Bill Walton
1977
Portland Trail Blazers
Wes Unseld
1978
Washington Bullets
Dennis Johnson
1979
Seattle SuperSonics
Magic Johnson
1980
Los Angeles Lakers
Cedric Maxwell
1981
Boston Celtics
Magic Johnson
1982
Los Angeles Lakers
Moses Malone
1983
Philadelphia 76ers
Larry Bird
1984
Boston Celtics
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
1985
Los Angeles Lakers
Larry Bird
1986
Boston Celtics
Magic Johnson
1987
Los Angeles Lakers
James Worthy
1988
Los Angeles Lakers
Joe Dumars
1989
Detroit Pistons
Isiah Thomas
1990
Detroit Pistons
Michael Jordan
1991
Chicago Bulls
Michael Jordan
1992
Chicago Bulls
Michael Jordan
1993
Chicago Bulls
Hakeem Olajuwon
1994
Houston Rockets
Hakeem Olajuwon
1995
Houston Rockets
Michael Jordan
1996
Chicago Bulls
Michael Jordan
1997
Chicago Bulls
Michael Jordan
1998
Chicago Bulls
Tim Duncan
1999
San Antonio Spurs
Shaquille O'Neal
2000
Los Angeles Lakers
Shaquille O'Neal
2001
Los Angeles Lakers
Shaquille O'Neal
2002
Los Angeles Lakers
Tim Duncan
2003
San Antonio Spurs
Chauncey Billups
2004
Detroit Pistons
Tim Duncan
2005
San Antonio Spurs
Dwyane Wade
2006
Miami Heat
Tony Parker
2007
San Antonio Spurs
Paul Pierce
2008
Boston Celtics
Kobe Bryant
2009
Los Angeles Lakers
Kobe Bryant
2010
Los Angeles Lakers
Dirk Nowitzki
2011
Dallas Mavericks
LeBron James
2012
Miami Heat
LeBron James
2013
Miami Heat
Kawhi Leonard
2014
San Antonio Spurs
Andre Iguodala
2015
Golden State Warriors
LeBron James
2016
Cleveland Cavaliers
Kevin Durant
2017
Golden State Warriors
Kevin Durant
2018
Golden State Warriors
Kawhi Leonard
2019
Toronto Raptors
LeBron James
2020
Los Angeles Lakers
Giannis Antetokounmpo
2021
Milwaukee Bucks
Stephen Curry
2022
Golden State Warriors
Nikola Jokic
2023
Denver Nuggets
We'll find out soon who from the Celtics or Nuggets will join this illustrious grouping of players. Enjoy the games!
LIAM MCKEONE
Liam McKeone is a Senior Writer for the Breaking & Trending News Team at Sports Illustrated. In addition to his role as a writer, he collaborates with other teams across Minute Media to help define his team’s content strategy. He has been in the industry as a content creator since 2017, and prior to joining SI in 2024, Liam worked for NBC Sports Boston and The Big Lead. In addition to his work as a writer, he has hosted the Press Pass Podcast covering sports media and The Big Stream covering pop culture. A graduate of Fordham University, Liam is always up for a good debate and enjoys loudly arguing about sports, rap music, books, and video games. Liam has been a member of the National Sports Media Association (NSMA) since 2020.
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