10) Dirk Nowitzki (Striker, Dallas Mavericks), 2011
Dirk Nowitzki won his only championship game against the Hitles, a Miami super team formed when multi-star LeBron James and Chris Bosh took their talents to South Beach to join Dwyane Wade. other perennial All-Star. The first game of the series immediately caused concern among bookmakers. In a tense, low-scoring job in Miami, Nowitzki used a tire to remove a torn tendon in his left hand during a game before hitting the winner with his injured hand. He then won Game 4 despite a sinus infection and a 101F fever, which now confirmed his excellent ability to play in undisputed conditions.
9) Cerri West (Guard, Los Angeles Lakers), 1969
1969 was West’s sixth final, and he lost all five of his previous five games to the Boston Celtics, led by Bill Russell. Despite this record, West played incredibly, averaging 38 points per game throughout the series, including 53 points in Game 1 and a 40-point triple-double in Game 7, which the Lakers lost to give Boston the title. West’s inspired performance did not lose its rivals: Russell famously noted that “Los Angeles did not win the championship, but Jerry West is the champion.” Recognizing West’s quality of play, the forces give him the MVP award in the first final and the only award given to a player of the losing team.
8) Hakeem Olajuvon (Center, Houston Rockets), 1995
Other superstars of the 1990s were sometimes defeated by Hakeem Olajuwon, the league’s first international superstar, in a two-year quiet reign. One of the few performances on this list that was marked by the exceptional quality of his opponent, Olajuvo’s Rockets defeated Orlando Magic (the only team to do so) led by Shaquille O’Neal, who eliminated Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls from the playoffs. 90s). Olajuwon scored 30+ points in each game and won the first game by kidnapping his teammate.
7) Dwyane Wade (Guard, Miami Hit), 2006
Wade’s 2006 game is the best Michael Jordan impression anyone has ever made on the final stage. He was a difficult candidate to become the MVP of the series – after all, it was his teammate O’Neill, who was also the MVP of the triple final. However, after losing the first two games, it was Wade who scored 42, 36, 43 and 36 points in four consecutive victories to bring Miami its first championship. And according to (often controversial) complex statistics known as player performance ratings (PER), Wade’s 2006 series was the best individual performance in more than 20 years.
6) Bill Russell (Center, Boston Celtics) 1962
Well, so this award did not exist until 1969, but Russell’s advantage was such that we give him an award anyway. During his 13 years in the league, Russell’s Celtics won 11 championships, including eight consecutive titles.
Russell’s defensive style has never been a good statistic, but as he famously put it, “No matter how I play, my team wins.” This was especially true during his dominant game against the West Lakers in 1962. Unlike Bill Russell, he led the Celtics in scoring in this series. He played all 53 minutes of Game 7 in overtime, scoring 30 points and 40 rebounds.
5) Shaquille O’Neal (Center, Los Angeles Lakers), 2000
For a certain fan generation, Shaq was a superhero in real life: he even played one in a movie (admittedly not great). His powers culminated at the beginning of the millennium, when he and Kobe Bryant Lakers won three consecutive titles. In the first of these runs, in 2000, Shaq was almost irresistible. After embarrassing only one voter to win the MVP of the regular season with unanimity, Shag outscored the Indiana Pacers with an average of 38 points and 16.7 rebounds in six games. If possible, Shaq was better than the numbers suggested.
4) Magic Conson (Guard, Los Angeles Lakers), 1980
In 1980, at the age of 20, Johnson became the youngest player to win an MVP award in the final. At the most popular moment of the series, Johnson started Game 6 despite serving as the team’s center (traditionally the highest position in a team), usually as the team’s defender (traditionally the shortest position). Johnson would rotate all five possible positions throughout the game to win 42 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists in a title-winning performance.
3) Willis Reed (Center, New York Knicks), 1970
Willis Reed may be the most unfamiliar name on this list for the casual fan, but in Game 7 of the 1970 series, the Stoic Leadership Hall of Fame is still routinely referred to by experts to this day.
Reed was the leading scorer for the New York Knicks in the first four games, averaging more than 31 points per game. The Knicks led the series 3-2 after five games, but their win in Game 5 was costly – Reed injured his right thigh muscle. The injury caused him to miss the 6th game in which the Nicks lost more than 20 points.
To the surprise of Knicks fans, the injured Reed stumbled for Game 7. He took and made the Knicks’ first two shots, and spent most of the first half defending Wilt Chamberlain until his injury knocked him out of the game. The Knicks would continue to win both the game and the championship. That evening, his presence inspired Howard Cosell, a leading legendary broadcaster, to tell Reed: “You have shown the best examples the human spirit can offer.”
2) Michael Cordan (Guard, Chicago Bulls), 1993
Anyone who has watched the last dance can confirm that Michael Jordan has a lot many final speeches for selection. His first championship against the Magic Johnson’s Lakers in 1991 gave us his “specification”.TAC-action. ” Jordan’s second final in 1992 introduced us to the indifference of “shoulder to shoulder”. He won his fourth title on Father’s Day in 1996, a coincidence that further complicated the possibility. Jordan’s raw, emotional reaction to his first title after his father’s murder. The list goes on – in 1997 there was a “flu game” and in 1998 there was a title-winning stroke five seconds before.
Jordan’s biggest overall final on the court is also the most difficult to conclude with a single sentence or moment. In 1993, Jordan’s Bulls won their third consecutive championship, an achievement that no team has achieved since Bill Russell’s Celtics. With an absurd 41 points per game, Jordan set an average (still standing) record to score the most points per game in the final series.
1) LeBron James (Striker, Cleveland Cavaliers), 2016
this approximately It is a battle between Jordan’s high scores in 1993 and LeBron James’ overall perfection in 2016. However, a closer look reveals that James’ achievements in 2016 are undeniably unique.
Let’s start with his opponent – James and the Cavaliers played the current champion of the team led by Stephen Curry, the Golden State Warriors, in the season in which he won. first–always unanimously elected MVP. Curry’s Warriors also broke Jordan’s Bulls’ record in the regular season, winning 73 games.
James’ condition was deplorable. After Game 4, the Cavs were 3-1 behind, a deficit that no team had ever eliminated in the final. However, in the last three games, James was irresistible. He scored 41 points each in Game 5 and Game 6 before finishing the series with a triple double in Game 7. He led all the major statistical categories for the series, something no other player has done in the playoffs. And in addition to all the statistical excellence, James developed his own signature game. The Block (which has its own Wikipedia entry) was the breathtaking pursuit of MVP Andre Iguodala in the final, which maintained a draw in the final moments of Game 7.
The victory also put an end to Cleveland’s drought in all major professional sports, which lasted until 1964. Not bad for a kid from nearby Akron.