History Of NBA Finals MVP Trophy

Curious about the history of the NBA Finals MVP trophy? The history of the NBA Finals MVP Trophy began with the 1969 NBA Finals. The MVP is given to player who is most instrumental to their team’s success. The first trophy was awarded to Jerry West who played for the Los Angeles Lakers in 1969.

Throughout the years many of the NBA’s greatest players have received the trophy. NBA greats such as West, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Kareem Abdul- Jabbar, Moses Malone, James Worthy, Larry Bird, Isiah Thomas and Magic Johnson have all earned the award.

The first player to win the MVP twice was Magic Johnson. Johnson earned the award first in 1980 when playing for the Los Angeles Lakers. In 1982 he would win the award for the second time with the same squad.

There are only two players who won the award three straight times, they are Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal. Jordan won it three consecutive times on two different occasions. His first was the 1991 NBA Finals for the Chicago Bulls. But Jordan would win the award again in the 1992 and 1993. His second streak would also be with Chicago as he won the award in the 1996, 1997 and 1998 NBA Finals respectively.

Shaquille O’Neal would be the second player to win the award on three consecutive occasions. While playing for the Los Angeles Lakers Shaq won the award in 2000, 2001 and 2002.

Since 2004, six different players have won the NBA Finals MVP, including fellow Laker and 2009 NBA Finals MVP Kobe Bryant. Two more and he will catch Shaq!

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NBA Finals MVP