The Bill Russell Award for NBA Finals MVP (Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award) is an annual award given by the NBA to the most outstanding player in the NBA Finals. The winner is selected by a group of eleven sports journalists, who vote after the conclusion of the Finals. The player with the most votes wins the award, established since 1969. Curiously, that first edition has been the only one in which the winner was a player who was part of the team that lost the Finals, Los Angeles Lakers.
The latest winner, Stephen Curry, received the award after being unanimously voted the best player of the 2022 NBA Finals.
Complete list of NBA Finals MVP winners
- 2021-22 - Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
- 2020-21 - Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
- 2019-20 - LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers
- 2018-19 - Kawhi Leonard, Toronto Raptors
- 2017-18 - Kevin Durant, Golden State Warriors
- 2016-17 - Kevin Durant, Golden State Warriors
- 2015-16 - LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
- 2014-15 - Andre Iguodala, Golden State Warriors
- 2013-14 - Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio Spurs
- 2012-13 - LeBron James, Miami Heat
- 2011-12 - LeBron James, Miami Heat
- 2010-11 - Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks
- 2009-10 - Kobe Bryant, THERE Lakers
- 2008-09 – Kobe Bryant, LA Lakers
- 2007-08 –Paul Pierce, Boston Celtics
- 2006-07 – Tony Parker, San Antonio Spurs
- 2005-06 –Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat
- 2004-05 –Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs
- 2003-04 – Chauncey Billups, Detroit Pistons
- 2002-03 –Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs
- 2001-02 – Shaquille O'Neal, LA Lakers
- 2000-01 – Shaquille O'Neal, LA Lakers
- 1999-00 – Shaquille O'Neal, LA Lakers
- 1998-99 –Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs
- 1997-98 - Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls
- 1996-97 - Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls
- 1995-96 - Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls
- 1994-95 –Hakeem Olajuwon, Houston Rockets
- 1993-94 –Hakeem Olajuwon, Houston Rockets
- 1992-93 - Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls
- 1991-92 - Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls
- 1990-91 - Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls
- 1989-90 –Isiah Thomas, Detroit Pistons
- 1988-89 – Joe Dumars, Detroit Pistons
- 1987-88 – James Worthy, L.A. Lakers
- 1986-87 –Magic Johnson, LA Lakers
- 1985-86 –Larry Bird, Boston Celtics
- 1984-85 – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, L.A. Lakers
- 1983-84 –Larry Bird, Boston Celtics
- 1982-83 – Moses Malone, Philadelphia 76ers
- 1981-82 –Magic Johnson, LA Lakers
- 1980-81 –Cedric Maxwell, Boston Celtics
- 1979-80 –Magic Johnson, LA Lakers
- 1978-79 –Dennis Johnson, Seattle SuperSonics
- 1977-78 –Wes Unseld, Washington Bullets
- 1976-77 –Bill Walton, Portland Trail Blazers
- 1975-76 – Jo Jo White, Boston Celtics
- 1974-75 –Rick Barry, Golden State Warriors
- 1973-74 –John Havlicek, Boston Celtics
- 1972-73 – Willis Reed, New York Knicks
- 1971-72 – Wilt Chamberlain, L.A. Lakers
- 1970-71 –Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Milwaukee Bucks
- 1969-70 – Willis Reed, New York Knicks
- 1968-69 – Jerry West*, LA Lakers
* Only time in which the MVP has gone to a player from the losing team in the Finals.
Nine curiosities about the NBA Finals MVPs
- Michael Jordan is the only player to have won it six times coinciding with the six titles of the Chicago Bulls from 1991:1993 to 1996:1998 and from XNUMX:XNUMX to XNUMX:XNUMX.
- LeBron James has won it four times.
- Magic Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal and Tim Duncan have won it three times.
- Willis Reed, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Larry Bird, Hakeem Olajuwon and Kobe Bryant have done it in two.
- Michael Jordan and Shaquille O'Neal are the only players to have won the award in three consecutive seasons.
- Michael Jordan is the only player to have won the MVP three consecutive seasons on two different occasions.
- Kawhi Leonard is the only player to win two Finals MVPs without having a regular season MVP.
- LeBron James is the only player to have won Finals MVP with three different teams: with Miami Heat in 2012 and 2013, Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016 and Los Angeles Lakers in 2020.
- Abdul-Jabbar and Kawhi Leonard are the other two players to have won the award on two different teams: Jabbar with the Milwaukee Bucks in 1971, and later with Los Angeles Lakers in 1985; LeBron Kawhi with San Antonio in 2014 and Toronto in 2019.
- Kawhi Leonard, with Los Angeles Clippers, seeks to become the second player capable of winning the NBA Finals MVP with three different teams.
- Olajuwon of Nigeria, Tim Duncan of the United States Virgin Islands, Tony Parker of France and Dirk Nowitzki of Germany are the only players not born in the United States to win the award.
And the NBA MVP winners?
If you are looking for information about the players who have won the NBA MVP in the regular season, click here to read all the data in detail.
(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)