NBA Finals Most Valuable Player facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP Award
Paul Pierce with his 2008 NBA Finals MVP trophy
Sport	Basketball
League	National Basketball Association
Given for	Most valuable player of the NBA Finals
History
First award	1969
Most wins	Michael Jordan (6 awards)
Most recent	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (1st award)

The Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player award is a super important honor given out every year in the National Basketball Association (NBA). It goes to the player who performs the best in the NBA Finals, which is the championship series of the NBA season. A group of eleven sports journalists and experts vote on who they think is the most valuable player (MVP) after the Finals are over. The player with the most votes wins this special award.

The award started way back in 1969. The first trophy looked a bit like the main NBA championship trophy, the Larry O'Brien Trophy, with a black base and a gold basketball on top. But in 2005, they introduced a cool new design for the trophy!

Amazing Players and Records

Since it began, 34 different players have won this award 55 times. Some players have won it many times, showing how truly great they are!

Top Winners

• Michael Jordan has won the award a record six times! He's the player with the most Finals MVP awards ever.
• LeBron James has won it four times.
• Magic Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal, and Tim Duncan have each won it three times.

Winning Streaks

• Michael Jordan and Shaquille O'Neal are the only players to win the award three times in a row. Michael Jordan even did this twice!
• Hakeem Olajuwon, Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James have all won the award two times in a row.

Unique Achievements

• Magic Johnson is the only player to win the award as a rookie (a player in their first year) and also the youngest winner ever, at just 20 years old.
• In 1985, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar became the oldest winner at 38 years old.
• Andre Iguodala is the only winner who didn't start every game in the Finals series.
• Jerry West, who won the very first award in 1969, is the only player to win it even though his team lost the NBA Finals. That shows how amazing he was!
• LeBron James is the only player to win the award with three different teams.
• LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard are the only players to win the award while playing for teams in both the Eastern and Western Conferences.
• Magic Johnson, Moses Malone, Kevin Durant, and Kawhi Leonard are the only players to win the Finals MVP in their very first season with a new team.

International Stars

The award has also been won by several amazing players from outside the United States:

• Hakeem Olajuwon from Nigeria (who later became a U.S. citizen).
• Tony Parker from France.
• Dirk Nowitzki from Germany.
• Giannis Antetokounmpo from Greece.
• Nikola Jokić from Serbia.
• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander from Canada.

Some of these international players, like Tony Parker, Dirk Nowitzki, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Nikola Jokić, learned to play basketball and developed their skills completely outside the U.S. Others, like Hakeem Olajuwon, Tim Duncan, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, played college basketball in the U.S. before joining the NBA.

Honoring a Legend

On February 14, 2009, during the NBA All-Star Weekend, the NBA Commissioner David Stern announced that the award would be renamed. It was changed to the "Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award" to honor Bill Russell. Bill Russell is a legendary player who won an incredible 11 NBA championships during his career!

Winners

Jerry West, the first winner, is the only player to win the award even though his team lost the Finals.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who won twice in 1971 and 1985, holds the record for the longest gap between awards.

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 in a row.

Tony Parker was the second player born outside the US to win the award, after Hakeem Olajuwon.

LeBron James is the only player to win the award with three different teams.

Giannis Antetokounmpo is the first player from Greece to win the award.

Nikola Jokić is the first player from Serbia to win the award.

^	This player is still active in the NBA.
*	This player has been voted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
§	This player will be eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2026.
	This player's team lost the NBA Finals.
Player (#)	Shows how many times the player has won the Finals MVP award.
Team (#)	Shows how many times a player from this team has won the Finals MVP award.

Year	Player	Position	Nationality	Team
1969	West, JerryJerry West*	Guard	United States	Los Angeles Lakers
1970	Reed, WillisWillis Reed*	Center/forward	United States	New York Knicks
1971	Alcindor, LewLew Alcindor*	Center	United States	Milwaukee Bucks
1972	Chamberlain, WiltWilt Chamberlain*	Center	United States	Los Angeles Lakers (2)
1973	Reed, WillisWillis Reed* (2)	Center/forward	United States	New York Knicks (2)
1974	Havlicek, JohnJohn Havlicek*	Forward/guard	United States	Boston Celtics
1975	Barry, RickRick Barry*	Forward	United States	Golden State Warriors
1976	White, Jo JoJo Jo White*	Guard	United States	Boston Celtics (2)
1977	Walton, BillBill Walton*	Center	United States	Portland Trail Blazers
1978	Unseld, WesWes Unseld*	Center/forward	United States	Washington Bullets
1979	Johnson, DennisDennis Johnson*	Guard	United States	Seattle SuperSonics
1980	Johnson, MagicMagic Johnson*	Guard	United States	Los Angeles Lakers (3)
1981	Maxwell, CedricCedric Maxwell	Forward	United States	Boston Celtics (3)
1982	Johnson, MagicMagic Johnson* (2)	Guard	United States	Los Angeles Lakers (4)
1983	Malone, MosesMoses Malone*	Center	United States	Philadelphia 76ers
1984	Bird, LarryLarry Bird*	Forward	United States	Boston Celtics (4)
1985	Abdul-Jabbar, KareemKareem Abdul-Jabbar (2)	Center	United States	Los Angeles Lakers (5)
1986	Bird, LarryLarry Bird* (2)	Forward	United States	Boston Celtics (5)
1987	Johnson, MagicMagic Johnson* (3)	Guard	United States	Los Angeles Lakers (6)
1988	Worthy, JamesJames Worthy*	Forward	United States	Los Angeles Lakers (7)
1989	Dumars, JoeJoe Dumars*	Guard	United States	Detroit Pistons
1990	Thomas, IsiahIsiah Thomas*	Guard	United States	Detroit Pistons (2)
1991	Jordan, MichaelMichael Jordan*	Guard	United States	Chicago Bulls
1992	Jordan, MichaelMichael Jordan* (2)	Guard	United States	Chicago Bulls (2)
1993	Jordan, MichaelMichael Jordan* (3)	Guard	United States	Chicago Bulls (3)
1994	Olajuwon, HakeemHakeem Olajuwon*	Center	United States	Houston Rockets
1995	Olajuwon, HakeemHakeem Olajuwon* (2)	Center	United States	Houston Rockets (2)
1996	Jordan, MichaelMichael Jordan* (4)	Guard	United States	Chicago Bulls (4)
1997	Jordan, MichaelMichael Jordan* (5)	Guard	United States	Chicago Bulls (5)
1998	Jordan, MichaelMichael Jordan* (6)	Guard	United States	Chicago Bulls (6)
1999	Duncan, TimTim Duncan*	Forward/center	United States	San Antonio Spurs
2000	O'Neal, ShaquilleShaquille O'Neal*	Center	United States	Los Angeles Lakers (8)
2001	O'Neal, ShaquilleShaquille O'Neal* (2)	Center	United States	Los Angeles Lakers (9)
2002	O'Neal, ShaquilleShaquille O'Neal* (3)	Center	United States	Los Angeles Lakers (10)
2003	Duncan, TimTim Duncan* (2)	Forward/center	United States	San Antonio Spurs (2)
2004	Billups, ChaunceyChauncey Billups*	Guard	United States	Detroit Pistons (3)
2005	Duncan, TimTim Duncan* (3)	Forward/center	United States	San Antonio Spurs (3)
2006	Wade, DwyaneDwyane Wade*	Guard	United States	Miami Heat
2007	Parker, TonyTony Parker*	Guard	France	San Antonio Spurs (4)
2008	Pierce, PaulPaul Pierce*	Forward	United States	Boston Celtics (6)
2009	Bryant, KobeKobe Bryant*	Guard	United States	Los Angeles Lakers (11)
2010	Bryant, KobeKobe Bryant* (2)	Guard	United States	Los Angeles Lakers (12)
2011	Nowitzki, DirkDirk Nowitzki*	Forward	Germany	Dallas Mavericks
2012	James, LeBronLeBron James^	Forward	United States	Miami Heat (2)
2013	James, LeBronLeBron James^ (2)	Forward	United States	Miami Heat (3)
2014	Leonard, KawhiKawhi Leonard^	Forward	United States	San Antonio Spurs (5)
2015	Iguodala, AndreAndre Iguodala§	Forward/guard	United States	Golden State Warriors (2)
2016	James, LeBronLeBron James^ (3)	Forward	United States	Cleveland Cavaliers
2017	Durant, KevinKevin Durant^	Forward	United States	Golden State Warriors (3)
2018	Durant, KevinKevin Durant^ (2)	Forward	United States	Golden State Warriors (4)
2019	Leonard, KawhiKawhi Leonard^ (2)	Forward	United States	Toronto Raptors
2020	James, LeBronLeBron James^ (4)	Forward	United States	Los Angeles Lakers (13)
2021	Antetokounmpo, GiannisGiannis Antetokounmpo^	Forward	Greece	Milwaukee Bucks (2)
2022	Curry, StephenStephen Curry^	Guard	United States	Golden State Warriors (5)
2023	Jokić, NikolaNikola Jokić^	Center	Serbia	Denver Nuggets
2024	Brown, JaylenJaylen Brown^	Forward/guard	United States	Boston Celtics (7)
2025	Gilgeous-Alexander, ShaiShai Gilgeous-Alexander^	Guard	Canada	Oklahoma City Thunder (2)

Multi-time winners

Awards	Player	Team(s)	Years
6	Jordan, MichaelMichael Jordan	Chicago Bulls	1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998
4	James, LeBronLeBron James	Miami Heat (2), Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers	2012, 2013, 2016, 2020
3	Johnson, MagicMagic Johnson	Los Angeles Lakers	1980, 1982, 1987
	O'Neal, ShaquilleShaquille O'Neal	Los Angeles Lakers	2000, 2001, 2002
	Duncan, TimTim Duncan	San Antonio Spurs	1999, 2003, 2005
2	Reed, WillisWillis Reed	New York Knicks	1970, 1973
	Abdul-Jabbar, KareemKareem Abdul-Jabbar	Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers	1971, 1985
	Bird, LarryLarry Bird	Boston Celtics	1984, 1986
	Olajuwon, HakeemHakeem Olajuwon	Houston Rockets	1994, 1995
	Bryant, KobeKobe Bryant	Los Angeles Lakers	2009, 2010
	Durant, KevinKevin Durant	Golden State Warriors	2017, 2018
	Leonard, KawhiKawhi Leonard	San Antonio Spurs, Toronto Raptors	2014, 2019

Teams

See also

In Spanish: Premio Bill Russell al MVP de las Finales de la NBA para niños

• NBA Most Valuable Player Award
• NBA Conference Finals Most Valuable Player Award
• NBA All-Star Game Kobe Bryant Most Valuable Player Award