2015 Finals
Flashback to 2015, an injury depleted Cleveland Cavaliers team is willed into a 6 game series against the Golden State Warriors on the back of LeBron James. Such an admirable effort that a very legitimate debate ensued on whether or not James should be named the Finals MVP in a losing effort. Ultimately the voters shied away from the honor and stuck to the status quo and gave the award to Warriors Forward Andre Iguodala.
2016 Finals
Fast forward back to today, fter falling down 3 games to 1 to the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors, LeBron and company defied all odds and forced a game seven back in Oakland on Sunday. The playoffs are a time when the greats come out and show what they can do, well nobody has been greater than LeBron James in these finals. One game left and we will know the champions, but that doesn’t stop us from debating, yet again, on if James deserves the Finals MVP regardless if the team wins or loses on Sunday.
MVP Loser
Not since the very first year of the award has a player from the losing team won the award, when Jerry West of the L.A. Lakers averaged 38 pts per game in the 7 game series. So the question still remains would the voters ever do such an unprecedented thing again? Probably not. They had every opportunity in the world to name James the MVP in 2015 and instead went with a bench player. This will be a moot point if the Cavaliers do what everyone said couldn’t be done and win in Oakland on Sunday, but if not the debate will rage on.
