Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable player award - wikipedia Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable player award This is the latest accepted revision, reviewed on 6 August 2018. hide National Basketball Association awards and honors Championship O'Brien Trophy Brown Trophy ( defunct ) Individual awards All - Star Game MVP Bill Russell Finals MVP Coach of the Year Defensive Player of the Year Executive of the Year J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Community Assist Award Most Improved Player Most Valuable Player Rookie of the Year Sixth Man of the Year Sportsmanship Award Twyman -- Stokes Teammate of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award Honors All - NBA Team All - Rookie Team All - Defensive Team 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. 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 to commemorate Bill Russell. Since its inception, the award has been given to 31 different players. Michael Jordan is a record six - time award winner. Magic Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal, Tim Duncan and LeBron James won the award three times in their careers. Jordan and O'Neal are the only players to win the award in three consecutive seasons ( Jordan accomplished the feat on two separate occasions ). Johnson is the only rookie ever to win the award, as well as the youngest at 20 years old. Andre Iguodala is the only winner to have not started every game in the series. Jerry West, the first ever awardee, is the only person to win the award while being on the losing team in the NBA Finals. Willis Reed, Kareem Abdul - Jabbar, Larry Bird, Hakeem Olajuwon, Kobe Bryant, and Kevin Durant won the award twice. Olajuwon, Durant, Bryant, and James have won the award in two consecutive seasons. Abdul - Jabbar and James are the only players to win the award for two different teams. Olajuwon of Nigeria, who became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1993, Tony Parker of France, and Dirk Nowitzki of Germany 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. Parker and Nowitzki 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. On February 14, 2009, during the 2009 NBA All - Star Weekend in Phoenix, then - NBA Commissioner David Stern announced that the award would be renamed the `` Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award '' in honor of 11 - time NBA champion Bill Russell. Contents 1 Winners 2 Multi-time winners 3 See also 4 Notes 5 References Winners Jerry West, the inaugural recipient, is the only player to win the award while being on the losing team. Magic Johnson is the only player to win the award as a rookie. Michael Jordan has won the award a record six times. Shaquille O'Neal is the only player other than Michael Jordan to have won the award three times consecutively. Tony Parker ( bottom ) is the first non-American player to win the award. LeBron James ( pictured ) and Kareem Abdul - Jabbar are the only players to win the award for two different teams. Denotes player who is still active in the NBA * Elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame § Player 's team lost the NBA Finals Player ( X ) Denotes the number of times the player has received the Finals MVP award Team ( X ) Denotes the number of times a player from this team has received the Finals MVP award Year Player Position Nationality Team 1969 Jerry West * Guard United States Los Angeles Lakers § 1970 Willis Reed * Center / Forward United States New York Knicks 1971 Lew Alcindor * Center United States Milwaukee Bucks 1972 Wilt Chamberlain * Center United States Los Angeles Lakers ( 2 ) 1973 Willis Reed * ( 2 ) Center / Forward United States New York Knicks ( 2 ) John Havlicek * Forward / Guard United States Boston Celtics Rick Barry * Forward United States Golden State Warriors 1976 Jo Jo White * Guard United States Boston Celtics ( 2 ) 1977 Bill Walton * Center United States Portland Trail Blazers 1978 Wes Unseld * Center / Forward United States Washington Bullets 1979 Dennis Johnson * Guard United States Seattle SuperSonics 1980 Magic Johnson * Guard United States Los Angeles Lakers ( 3 ) 1981 Cedric Maxwell Forward United States Boston Celtics ( 3 ) 1982 Magic Johnson * ( 2 ) Guard United States Los Angeles Lakers ( 4 ) Moses Malone * Center United States Philadelphia 76ers 1984 Larry Bird * Forward United States Boston Celtics ( 4 ) 1985 Kareem Abdul - Jabbar * ( 2 ) Center United States Los Angeles Lakers ( 5 ) 1986 Larry Bird * ( 2 ) Forward United States Boston Celtics ( 5 ) Magic Johnson * ( 3 ) Guard United States Los Angeles Lakers ( 6 ) 1988 James Worthy * Forward United States Los Angeles Lakers ( 7 ) 1989 Joe Dumars * Guard United States Detroit Pistons 1990 Isiah Thomas * Guard United States Detroit Pistons ( 2 ) 1991 Michael Jordan * Guard United States Chicago Bulls 1992 Michael Jordan * ( 2 ) Guard United States Chicago Bulls ( 2 ) 1993 Michael Jordan * ( 3 ) Guard United States Chicago Bulls ( 3 ) 1994 Hakeem Olajuwon * Center United States Houston Rockets 1995 Hakeem Olajuwon * ( 2 ) Center United States Houston Rockets ( 2 ) Michael Jordan * ( 4 ) Guard United States Chicago Bulls ( 4 ) 1997 Michael Jordan * ( 5 ) Guard United States Chicago Bulls ( 5 ) 1998 Michael Jordan * ( 6 ) Guard United States Chicago Bulls ( 6 ) 1999 Tim Duncan Forward / Center United States San Antonio Spurs 2000 Shaquille O'Neal * Center United States Los Angeles Lakers ( 8 ) 2001 Shaquille O'Neal * ( 2 ) Center United States Los Angeles Lakers ( 9 ) 2002 Shaquille O'Neal * ( 3 ) Center United States Los Angeles Lakers ( 10 ) 2003 Tim Duncan ( 2 ) Forward / Center United States San Antonio Spurs ( 2 ) Chauncey Billups Guard United States Detroit Pistons ( 3 ) 2005 Tim Duncan ( 3 ) Forward / Center United States San Antonio Spurs ( 3 ) 2006 Dwyane Wade ^ Guard United States Miami Heat 2007 Tony Parker ^ Guard France San Antonio Spurs ( 4 ) 2008 Paul Pierce Forward United States Boston Celtics ( 6 ) 2009 Kobe Bryant Guard United States Los Angeles Lakers ( 11 ) Kobe Bryant ( 2 ) Guard United States Los Angeles Lakers ( 12 ) 2011 Dirk Nowitzki ^ Forward Germany Dallas Mavericks 2012 LeBron James ^ Forward United States Miami Heat ( 2 ) 2013 LeBron James ^ ( 2 ) Forward United States Miami Heat ( 3 ) 2014 Kawhi Leonard ^ Forward United States San Antonio Spurs ( 5 ) 2015 Andre Iguodala ^ Forward / Guard United States Golden State Warriors ( 2 ) 2016 LeBron James ^ ( 3 ) Forward United States Cleveland Cavaliers 2017 Kevin Durant ^ Forward United States Golden State Warriors ( 3 ) 2018 Kevin Durant ^ ( 2 ) Forward United States Golden State Warriors ( 4 ) Multi-time winners Player Team ( s ) No. Years Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls 6 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998 Magic Johnson Los Angeles Lakers 1980, 1982, 1987 Shaquille O'Neal Los Angeles Lakers 2000, 2001, 2002 Tim Duncan San Antonio Spurs 1999, 2003, 2005 LeBron James Miami Heat ( 2 ), Cleveland Cavaliers ( 1 ) 2012, 2013, 2016 Willis Reed New York Knicks 1970, 1973 Kareem Abdul - Jabbar Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers 1971, 1985 Larry Bird Boston Celtics 1984, 1986 Hakeem Olajuwon Houston Rockets 1994, 1995 Kobe Bryant Los Angeles Lakers 2009, 2010 Kevin Durant Golden State Warriors 2017, 2018 See also National Basketball Association portal NBA Most Valuable Player Award NBA All - Star Game Most Valuable Player Award Notes Jump up ^ Before the 1971 -- 72 season, Lew Alcindor changed his name to Kareem Abdul - Jabbar. Jump up ^ At 20 years and 276 days old, Johnson is the youngest Finals MVP winner in history. Jump up ^ At 38 years and 54 days old, Abdul - Jabbar is the oldest Finals MVP winner in history. ^ Jump up to : Hakeem Olajuwon was born in Nigeria, but became a naturalized United States citizen in 1993. ^ Jump up to : Because Tim Duncan is a United States citizen by birth, as are all natives of the U.S. Virgin Islands, he was able to play for the U.S. internationally. Jump up ^ Tony Parker was born in Belgium. He holds French citizenship and plays for their national team. References General `` Finals Most Valuable Player ''. NBA / Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved July 14, 2008. `` Finals Most Valuable Players ''. ESPN. Retrieved July 15, 2008. Specific Jump up ^ `` Kevin Durant Wins 2017 NBA Finals MVP After Winning 1st Title with Warriors ''. Bleacher Report. Retrieved June 17, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Game 5 Notebook : Billups Wins MVP ''. NBA / Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved July 16, 2008. Jump up ^ `` Spurs crowned NBA champions ''. CBC Sports. June 24, 2005. Retrieved July 16, 2008. ^ Jump up to : `` Finals Most Valuable Player ''. NBA / Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved July 14, 2008. Jump up ^ `` Magic Johnson Bio ''. NBA / Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved October 21, 2010. Jump up ^ Scott, Nate ( June 16, 2014 ). `` Kawhi Leonard is third youngest NBA Finals MVP ever ''. USA Today. Archived from the original on June 16, 2014. Jump up ^ Strauss, Ethan Sherwood ( June 16, 2015 ). `` Andre Iguodala named Finals MVP after coming off bench to begin series ''. ESPN.com. Archived from the original on June 17, 2015. Jump up ^ `` Bargnani becomes first European top NBA draft pick ''. People 's Daily Online. June 29, 2006. Retrieved June 16, 2008. Jump up ^ https://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba--danny-green-spurs-nba-finals-3-pointers-cedric-maxwell-224343936.html Jump up ^ `` The Finals MVP to Receive Bill Russell MVP Award ''. NBA / Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. February 14, 2009. Archived from the original on February 17, 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2009. Jump up ^ `` Kareem Abdul - Jabbar Bio ''. NBA. Retrieved August 4, 2008. Jump up ^ `` Magic Johnson 1979 - 80 Game Log ''. basketball - reference. Retrieved 17 May 2016. Jump up ^ `` Kareem Abdul - Jabbar 1984 - 85 Game Log ''. basketball - reference. Retrieved 17 May 2016. Jump up ^ `` Hakeem Olajuwon Bio : 1992 - 93 ''. NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on May 16, 2008. Retrieved June 15, 2008. Jump up ^ `` Virgin Islands ''. CIA World Factbook. Retrieved August 12, 2008. Jump up ^ `` All - Time USA Basketball Men 's Roster : D ''. USA Basketball. Archived from the original on August 28, 2009. Retrieved June 16, 2008. Jump up ^ `` Parker will be speedy foe for Nets ''. Sports Illustrated. Time Warner Company. June 2, 2003. Retrieved October 17, 2010. Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award 1969 : West 1970 : Reed 1971 : Alcindor 1972 : Chamberlain 1973 : Reed 1974 : Havlicek 1975 : Barry 1976 : White 1977 : Walton 1978 : Unseld 1979 : D. Johnson 1980 : E. Johnson 1981 : Maxwell 1982 : E. Johnson 1983 : Malone 1984 : Bird 1985 : Abdul - Jabbar 1986 : Bird 1987 : E. Johnson 1988 : Worthy 1989 : Dumars 1990 : Thomas 1991 : Jordan 1992 : Jordan 1993 : Jordan 1994 : Olajuwon 1995 : Olajuwon 1996 : Jordan 1997 : Jordan 1998 : Jordan 1999 : Duncan 2000 : O'Neal 2001 : O'Neal 2002 : O'Neal 2003 : Duncan 2004 : Billups 2005 : Duncan 2006 : Wade 2007 : Parker 2008 : Pierce 2009 : Bryant 2010 : Bryant 2011 : Nowitzki 2012 : James 2013 : James 2014 : Leonard 2015 : Iguodala 2016 : James 2017 : Durant 2018 : Durant NBA Finals Champions O'Brien Trophy Most Valuable Player Award Brown Trophy Championship ring Broadcasters Game sevens Droughts Streaks TV ratings 1940s 1947 1948 1949 1950s 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960s 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970s 1970 1971 1972 1973 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980s 1980 1981 1982 1984 1985 1986 1988 1989 1990s 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1997 1998 1999 2000s 2000 2001 2002 2003 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010s 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 National Basketball Association Eastern Conference Atlantic Boston Celtics Brooklyn Nets New York Knicks Philadelphia 76ers Toronto Raptors Central Chicago Bulls Cleveland Cavaliers Detroit Pistons Indiana Pacers Milwaukee Bucks Southeast Atlanta Hawks Charlotte Hornets Miami Heat Orlando Magic Washington Wizards Western Conference Northwest Denver Nuggets Minnesota Timberwolves Oklahoma City Thunder Portland Trail Blazers Utah Jazz Pacific Golden State Warriors Los Angeles Clippers Los Angeles Lakers Phoenix Suns Sacramento Kings Southwest Dallas Mavericks Houston Rockets Memphis Grizzlies New Orleans Pelicans San Antonio Spurs Annual events Draft Eligibility Summer League Christmas Day All - Star Weekend Game Global Games Africa 2015 Africa 2017 Africa 2018 Playoffs List Finals Champions History Predecessors BAA NBL ABA Merger Criticisms and controversies 2007 Tim Donaghy betting scandal Lockouts Seasons Records regular season post-season All - Star Game Win - loss records Personalities Players Current rosters Foreign players Race and ethnicity First overall draft picks Highest paid Retired numbers Banned or suspended NBPA Head coaches Current Player - coaches Champions Foreign coaches NBCA Owners Referees Awards and honors Larry O'Brien Trophy NBA Awards NBA MVP Finals MVP All - Star Game MVP Hall of Fame Members NBA Silver Anniversary Team NBA 35th Anniversary Team 50 Greatest Players Others Arenas Business Collective bargaining agreement Salary cap NBA Store Culture Cheerleading Mascots Dress code G League Midwest Division Media TV NBA TV Rivalries Teams Defunct Expansion Relocated Timeline WNBA Basketball in the United States Portal 2018 -- 19 season Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bill_Russell_NBA_Finals_Most_Valuable_Player_Award&oldid=853741235 '' Categories : National Basketball Association awards National Basketball Association Finals National Basketball Association lists Awards established in 1969 Most valuable player awards Hidden categories : Wikipedia pending changes protected pages Use mdy dates from June 2012 Articles with hCards Featured lists Talk Contents About Wikipedia Azərbaycanca Bosanski Català Deutsch Español فارسی Français Galego Hrvatski Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית ქართული Latviešu Lietuvių Македонски Nederlands 日本 語 Polski Português Русский Sicilianu Српски / srpski Suomi Svenska Türkçe Українська 中文 19 more Edit links This page was last edited on 6 August 2018, at 18 : 30 ( UTC ). 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Question: who won nba finals mvp on a losing team
Answer: Jerry West