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The Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP award is perhaps the greatest individual honor a player can get on the NBA’s biggest stage. Playing at your best when it matters the most for your team is what differentiates the legends of the game from the also rans. Michael Jordan won six NBA Finals MVP awards over his storied career in the league. LeBron James has four to his credit, the last coming in the 2020 NBA Finals.
Jordan and James are, rightfully therefore, regarded among the all-time greats of the game. That they dominated their opponents to give their teams championship glory helped cement their legacy for decades to come.
From this perspective, we look at the next generation of young NBA stars, those under age 25, who are most likely to win the Finals MVP Award on multiple occasions. Of course, the assumption here is that the teams these young stars belong to surround them with the right kind of talent to make it to the Finals on a consistent basis. Without further ado, let's take a look at the three players likeliest to win multiple Finals MVP awards.
#1 Zion Williamson (Age 21)
Zion Williamson has only played two NBA seasons. In fact, his combined tally of 85 games over two NBA seasons is only marginally more than a full 82-game NBA season. He hasn’t even played a single playoff game. But Williamson is the future. He is only 21 and is destined to assert himself on the NBA Finals stage multiple times over in the future.
Consider this. In his second NBA season, Williamson averaged 27.0 ppg while shooting 61.1% from the field. 2021 Finals MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo has never shot better than 57.8% in any NBA season. The same holds true for current league MVP Nikola Jokic, whose best showing from the field is also 57.8% in a single NBA season.
Or consider Joel Embiid, the Philadelphia 76ers centre, who finished among the top three in the 2020-21 MVP race. Embiid has shot more than 50 percent from the field only once in his five-year NBA career when he shot 51.3% last season.
Williamson is an absolute monster. Listed at 6-7, 284 pounds, he is difficult to guard anywhere near the rim. He has often been compared to Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley, a mix of power and athleticism. He can spin, drive his way to the basket and handle the ball. Pair him with the right point guard – someone like Ja Morant or Trae Young – and you might get the next elite duo of NBA players.
Also Read: What is Zion’s Net Worth in 2021?
#2 Luka Doncic (Age 22)
There isn’t enough that you can say about Luka Doncic’s greatness. He has consistently made heads turn in his three seasons in the league. From winning the 2019 Rookie of the Year to already becoming a two-time All-Star to leading his team from the front, Doncic has met the NBA challenge head-on.
Doncic, who was born in Slovenia, already has 36 triple-doubles to his credit in his three-year NBA career. Russell Westbrook, the NBA’s all-time leader in triple-doubles with 184 TDs against his name, had just five triple doubles between 2008 and 2011 in comparison. Doncic’s triple-doubles tally dwarfs LeBron James’ numbers too. James had just nine triple-doubles in his first three NBA seasons.
Or consider Luka’s magic in the NBA playoffs. Last season, he single-handedly pushed the Mavs to a six-game series against the Los Angeles Clippers. Doncic averaged 31.0 ppg, 9.8 rpg and 8.7 apg in that series, where he hit a memorable game-winner over the outstretched hands of Reggie Jackson in Game 4 of the series.
In the 2021 postseason, Doncic’s 35.7 ppg was the most by any player in a series. He once again led the Mavericks from the front, also averaging 7.9 rpg and 10.3 apg while playing hurt against the Clippers. The idea that he will only get better with age makes him a certain repeat Finals MVP prospect in the future.
#3 Jayson Tatum (Age 23)
The Boston Celtics’ wing player already has two Eastern Conference Finals appearances to his credit. Jayson Tatum is a two-time All-Star, who also won an Olympic Gold with team USA at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Tatum is also only the second player (the first being Larry Bird) in Celtics history to score 60 points in an NBA game.
Tatum has already shown that he can lead the Celtics on his broad, young shoulders. He has improved his scoring average in each of his four NBA seasons, going from 13.9 ppg in his rookie year to 26.4 ppg in 2020-21. He can also knock down long range shots, averaging 39.6% for his career from downtown.
But Tatum’s biggest quality is turning up during clutch moments. He has shown the ability to close out games with his heroics in the dying moments of a contest. That is perhaps the most important quality required in a Finals MVP, something that goes beyond quantifiable statistical numbers. Be it Giannis Antetokounmpo or Paul George, Tatum has proved that he can get his team the win against the best of defenders in pressure situations.
