The Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player award (formerly known as the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player award) 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 person with the highest number of votes wins the award.[1] The award was originally a black trophy with a gold basketball-shaped sphere at the top, similar to the
Larry O'Brien Trophy, until a new trophy was introduced in
2005.[2][3]
Since its inception, the award has been given 55 times to 34 players.
Michael Jordan is a record six-time award winner.[4]LeBron James has won the award four times in his career, and
Magic Johnson,
Shaquille O'Neal, and
Tim Duncan won three times each. Jordan and O'Neal are the only players to win the award in three consecutive seasons (Jordan accomplished the feat on two occasions). Johnson is the only rookie ever to win the award,[5] as well as the youngest at 20 years and 276 days old.[6][7] In
1985,
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar became the oldest to win at 38 years and 54 days old.[8]Andre Iguodala is the only winner to have not started every game in the series.[9]Jerry West, the first awardee (
1969), is the only person to win the award while being on the losing team.[4]
Willis Reed, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar,[a]Larry Bird,
Hakeem Olajuwon,
Kobe Bryant,
Kawhi Leonard and
Kevin Durant won the award twice. Olajuwon, Durant, Bryant, and James have won the award in two consecutive seasons. James is the only player to have won the award with three different teams,[10] while he and Leonard are the only players to have won the award in both conferences.[11] Johnson,
Moses Malone, Durant, and Leonard are the only players to have been named Finals MVP in their first season with a team.[12] Olajuwon of
Nigeria (who became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1993),
Tony Parker of
France,
Dirk Nowitzki of
Germany,
Giannis Antetokounmpo of
Greece, and
Nikola Jokić of
Serbia are the only international players to win the award. Duncan is an American citizen, but is considered an "international" player by the NBA because he was not born in one of the fifty states or Washington, D.C.[13] Parker, Nowitzki, Antetokounmpo and Jokić are the only winners to have been trained totally outside the U.S.; Olajuwon played
college basketball at
Houston and Duncan at
Wake Forest.
Cedric Maxwell is the only Finals MVP winner eligible for the
Hall of Fame who has not been voted in.[14]
^
abHakeem Olajuwon was born in
Nigeria, but became a naturalized United States citizen in 1993.[17]
^
abcBecause Tim Duncan is a United States citizen by birth, as are all natives of the U.S. Virgin Islands,[18] he was able to play for the U.S. internationally.[19]
^Tony Parker was born in Belgium. He holds French citizenship and plays for
their national team.[20]