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The Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player award is bestowed annually upon the best individual performer during the most prominent 7 Game series marking the end of the playoffs and the NBA season. Though not as valuable as the regular season MVP award, it holds value in terms of the extraordinary efforts put in when it matters the most.
Teams fight it out throughout the 82-game long season, all in a quest to put themselves in a position to have a chance at winning the Larry O'Brien trophy. The NBA Playoffs necessitate the ability to make the right play under pressure, in turn, requiring prior post-season experience. Franchises then expect their veterans to step up and handle the bright lights at the grandest stage in basketball.
When the clock is running down on you, and all you've done for the past 82 plus games is on the line, it requires special balls to take the initiative. Youngsters usually falter at such pivotal moments owing to the intimidating setup which transcends the concept of just putting the ball in the basket and becomes something way more.
The following men (then youngsters) didn't act their age when the moment called and contradicted everything that has been presumed above.
#5 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - 23 Years Old (1971)
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, also called (until 1971) Lew Alcindor, byname of Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor, dominated the game throughout the 1970s and early ’80s. As a followup to the Bucks' inception in 1969, Kareem teamed up with Oscar Robertson to deliver the fastest franchise championship in NBA History in 1971 by sweeping the Baltimore Bullets 4-0 in the Finals.
In just his second season in the league, Lew Alcindor averaged 26.6 points and 17.0 rebounds per game in the 1970-71 playoffs, shattering all doubts that were directed towards his future greatness.
His playoffs record boasts of 5,762 points in 237 post-season games along with 2 NBA Finals MVPs (in 1971 and 1985). By the time his career ended, he was leading the NBA in terms of most field goals made (15,837), and most minutes played (57,446) as well.
He retired in 1989 and is widely considered one of the greatest players in NBA history.
#4 Kawhi Leonard - 22 Years Old (2014)
After being drafted 15th overall in the 2015 NBA draft by the Indiana Pacers, Kawhi Leonard was traded to the Spurs on the same night, in exchange for George Hill.
The Pacers regret that decision till date. Kawhi went on to win an NBA championship with the Spurs in 2014 and was also the NBA Finals MVP, playing against LeBron and the Miami Heat in the Finals. Leonard was the youngest player since Tim Duncan won the Finals MVP in 1999.
'The Klaw' clocked in an average 17.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.6 steals and 1.2 blocks per game in the Finals and pretty much ended LeBron's Miami reign then and there. He was as complete a two-way player as there possibly could be, averaging 1.7 steals throughout the post-season of 2014.
During 2015 to 2017, Kawhi was named in the All-NBA defensive first team for three years in a row and never averaged less than 1.8 steals per game in any of those seasons.
#3 Magic Johnson - 22 Years Old (1982)
As you would find out in the following slides, Magic's NBA Finals MVP at 22 years old was not his youngest ever.
Yes. He had won two Championship rings and two NBA Finals MVP by the time he turned 22. If that's not greatness in a nutshell, I don't know what is.
Playing for a Lakers side consisting the likes of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bob McAdoo in the 1982 Finals against Philadelphia, Magic had no trouble standing out on both ends of the floor. He averaged 16.2 points, 10.8 rebounds, 8.0 assists and 2.5 steals per game in the Finals, piling on a triple-double of 13 points, 13 assists, and 13 rebounds in the Knockout Game 6.
At 6 feet 9 inches, he was a dangerous scorer from anywhere on the court and helped the Los Angeles Lakers win 5 Championships, being named the NBA Finals MVP on three of those trips.
The franchise eventually went on to retire his #32 jersey as a sign of respect to his contribution to the organisation.
#2 Tim Duncan - 22 Years Old (1999)
Tim Duncan played his 19-year career with the San Antonio Spurs. A jaw-dropping 15-time All-Star and 10-time All NBA First team member, Duncan was one of the 14 NBA players to have registered more than 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in a single season (2001-02), and was widely considered to be the greatest power forward of all time.
A young Tim Duncan teamed up with the great David Robinson in the 1999 NBA Finals against the New York Knicks and got the Spurs franchise its first-ever NBA title. He averaged a blistering 23.5 points and 11.5 rebounds per game throughout the 1999 post-season and was a force to be reckoned with.
He amped up his energy in the Finals, averaging 27.4 points and 14 rebounds per game in a five-game series as Spurs beat the Knicks 4-1. Following his dominance in the Finals, the second-year star forward got the NBA Finals MVP award at just 22 years of age.
#1 Magic Johnson - 20 Years Old (1980)
In 1980, Magic and Kareem were up against the Philadelphia 76ers in the Finals, with the series tied at 2 apiece after four games. Kareem dropped 42 in Game 5 followed by Magic scoring 40 in Game 6 and the series was sealed. While Kareem averaged 33.4 points per game in the playoffs in contrast to Johnson's 21.5 ppg, the NBA Finals MVP was bestowed upon Magic, making him the first rookie to ever do so.
It was pretty debatable, but the popular belief is Magic's all-around averages of 21.5 points, 11.2 rebounds, 8.7 assists and 2.7 steals per game in the Finals coupled with an ecstatic performance in Game 6 (scoring 42 points along with 15 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals) gave him an upper-hand over the great Kareem.
To put up such numbers at the biggest stage of them all, playing his first season in the league, was something that took the NBA universe by storm.
This was Magic's first of the five NBA titles he won with the Lakers, and first of the three NBA Finals MVP trophies he collected in his entire career.
