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The NBA Championship is one of the most elusive awards in the league. However, an even more elusive award for any player is the NBA Finals MVP.
More often than not, the NBA Finals MVP is awarded to the best player of the Finals series on the winning team. It is worth noting that only Jerry West has won the award, while playing for the losing team. But aside from the Hall of Famer, we’ve seen a great number of NBA champs win the Finals MVP altogether.
Unfortunately, not all great NBA champions win the elusive trophy, given that there’s only one winner. For this piece, let’s take a look at the greatest NBA champions that never won Finals MVP.
10. Manu Ginobili
Championship/s: 2003, 2005, 2007, 2014
Manu Ginobili is known to be one of the best players in the Spurs’ Big Three alongside Tim Duncan and Tony Parker. And his time with the Spurs saw him win four NBA championships. Unfortunately, none of those championship runs awarded him as the Finals MVP.
He did make strong cases in 2005 and 2014. In the 2005 Finals, Ginobili averaged 18.7 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game which made him the second best player of the team in that series. While in 2014, he averaged 14.4 points, 4.4 assists, and 3.0 boards per game. Unfortunately for him, the Finals MVPs were awarded to Tim Duncan and Kawhi Leonard, respectively.
9. Chris Bosh
The Miami Heat were a feared team especially with their Big Three of LBJ, D-Wade, and Chris Bosh. Unfortunately, among the trio, only Chris Bosh never won a NBA Finals MVP in his career.
In their back-to-back championship campaigns, LeBron James would win both Finals MVPs. Given that Bosh's role was the third option, it was difficult for him to crack the Finals MVP race despite being a double-double threat in every Finals trip. Not to mention, he was one of the unsung heroes of the Heat’s championship in 2013. Nevertheless, his sacrifice was still worth it in the end, as not a lot of players can finish their careers with two championships under their belt.
8. Kevin Garnett
Championship/s: 2008
The Boston Celtics, the most decorated franchise alongside the Lakers, won their last championship in 2008, thanks to Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and KG. KG was the centerpiece of the Celtics’ defense that controlled the tempo of the Finals. In a highly physical series against the Lakers led by Kobe Bryant, The recent inductee into the Hall of Fame, controlled the boards, as he grabbed 13.0 rebounds per outing. He was also the third leading scorer with 18.2 a night.
However, Paul Pierce was named the man of the series. He led the team by averaging 21.8 points, 6.3 assists, and 4.5 rebounds per game. With Pierce’s explosion on offense, he was named the NBA Finals MVP over KG.
7. David Robinson
Championship/s: 1999, 2003
Dubbed as The Admiral, David Robinson is considered as one of the best Spurs legends. Thanks to his rebounding and shot-blocking, the Spurs garnered two NBA championships. Although Robinson was great in those championship runs, he would never win a Finals MVP trophy.
The closest he ever got to win one was in 1999. In that series, Robinson averaged 16.6 point and 11.8 rebounds per game. However, Tim Duncan had more dominant numbers that overshadowed The Admiral. The former put up a monster 27.4 points and 14.0 boards per night to win the NBA Finals MVP.
6. Julius Erving
Championship/s: 1983
Julius Erving is one of the most decorated players to ever play in the NBA. Dr. J’s list of achievements includes various ABA Playoff Awards, MVP, All-Star selections, All-NBA Team honors, and a NBA championship. Sadly, a Finals MVP award isn’t one of them. Erving got awfully close to winning it in 1983, as the Sixers swept the Lakers in the Finals. In that series, Erving averaged a respectable 19.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 5.0 dimes per game.
However, Moses Malone was the star of the series. Malone put up a monster 25.8 points, 18.0 rebounds per night to win the NBA Finals MVP.
5. Anthony Davis
Championship/s: 2020
After a blockbuster trade that sent AD to the Lakers, the team led by LeBron James immediately became favorites last season. As we all know, the Lakers put up a dominant run in the NBA Bubble that saw them outlast the Miami Heat 4-2 in the Finals. AD played a major role in that series, as he tallied 25.0 points and 10.7 rebounds per game.
Davis also made history in his Finals debut by scoring the third-most points in his first ever Finals game with 34. In addition to this, he was also just the fifth player in NBA history to score at least 30 points in his first two career NBA Finals games.
But despite his contribution, LBJ would reign superior and come out as the Finals MVP. James averaged a near triple double of 29.8 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 8.5 assists. Fortunately for AD, he might have a shot to win the NBA Finals MVP, with the Lakers looking strong in their repeat bid this year.
4. Clyde Drexler
Championship/s: 1995
Clyde Drexler was a late addition to the Houston Rockets, who were on a campaign for a back-to-back. With Drexler taking his talents to Houston, it certainly paid dividends for the team as the Rockets won their second consecutive title in 1995. Drexler was instrumental. He registered 21.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 6.8 dimes per game in the Finals.
However, at the end of the day, Olajuwon made known that the Rockets were his team. The 7’0 center won his second straight NBA Finals MVP by tallying a superior 32.8 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per outing.
3. Scottie Pippen
Championship/s: 1991-1993, 1996-1998
If you’re teammates with Michael Jordan, the GOAT himself, it is clearly much easier to win championships. However, it's next to impossible to surpass MJ in the Finals MVP race. Famous for playing second fiddle to MJ, Scottie Pippen has been a reliable scorer and versatile player in all six of the Bulls’ NBA championship runs.
It isn’t a surprise that he has never won the elusive trophy, but he is indeed one of the greatest NBA champions to never win an NBA Finals MVP.
2. Bill Russell
Championship/s: 1957, 1959-1966, 1968, 1969
It is a head scratcher as to why the best player that led a team to 11 championships never won at least one Finals MVP. Well, it is worth noting that the Finals MVP award was only established in 1969, which was the last time Russell won a championship.
Unfortunately for Russell, it was also the first and only time the award was given to the best player of a losing team, which was Jerry West. West was clearly the best player of the series as he put up 37.9 points per game. However, if we’re talking about the champions, Russell was a cut above the rest. He pulled down 21.1 rebounds per game to go alongside with 9.1 points and 5.1 assists.
1- Stephen Curry
Championship/s: 2015, 2017-2018
It is hard to believe that a player as iconic as Stephen Curry never snagged the award. He is clearly the franchise centerpiece of the Warriors that won three NBA championships. Furthermore, he has also been the main player that ushered in the 3-Point Boom. Curry got awfully close at winning the NBA Finals MVP in 2015. He led the team in points and averaged 26.0 points per game while shooting 38.5% from deep.
Surprisingly, the award went to Andre Iguodala, who broke out in the series and was tasked to slow down LeBron James. Although Iggy certainly made a huge impact to the series, there’s no question that Curry made a strong case as well.
Curry helped take the Warriors to the pinnacle from 2017 to 2018. However, all the NBA Finals MVP awards went to Kevin Durant, who took over the team upon his arrival in 2016.
