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In an effort for the ages, Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo won the NBA Finals MVP award after closing out the Phoenix Suns on a 50-point night in Game 6 of the 2021 NBA Finals.
It was Antetokounmpo's first appearance in the NBA Finals and he made the most of his first taste at the NBA's biggest stage. The two-time NBA MVP looked completely dominant throughout the series even after coming off a hyperextended knee in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Five Superstars who won Finals MVP in their first NBA Finals appearance
Giannis added 50 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks in the title-clinching Game 6, which were unprecedented feats for any player in NBA Finals history. That gave the Milwaukee Bucks their second NBA championship (the first since 1971).
The 2021 NBA Finals were the first for Giannis and also the first for the Phoenix Suns' Devin Booker and Chris Paul. The Finals MVP award would've surely gone to any of these players, given how the series unfolded, and the 'Greek Freak' ultimately took it.
The bona fide superstars won the NBA Finals MVP award only nine times in their first appearance in the NBA Finals.
In this piece, we will give you the five most impressive debut performances from a superstar that resulted in NBA Finals MVP recognition.
Without further ado, let us start.
Honorable mention
Willis Reed (1970), Bill Walton (1977), Dwyane Wade (2006) and Paul Pierce (2008) were the four other superstars to win the Finals MVP award in their first trip to the NBA Finals.
#5 Michael Jordan - 1991 NBA Finals
The 1991 NBA Finals saw Magic Johnson and the 'Showtime' LA Lakers reach that stage for the first and only time without Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. On the other end, Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls were ready to launch the franchise's 1990s dynasty at the expense of the dominant team from the 1980s.
As a changing of the guard, the Chicago Bulls dominated Johnson's La Lakers in five games of the 1991 NBA Finals, with Michael Jordan winning the first of his six NBA Finals MVP awards.
Jordan had an immense series, putting up offensive shows continuously, especially in Game 2, where he made 13 consecutive shots at one point.
'His Airness' averaged 31.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, 11.4 assists, 2.7 steals and 1.4 blocks per game in the series with 55/50/84 shooting splits.
#4 Tim Duncan - 1999 NBA Finals
After Michael Jordan's second retirement and the lockout-shortened 1998-99 NBA season, not many knew what to expect from that postseason, especially after a 50-game regular season.
However, it was the turn of the San Antonio Spurs to start a dynasty, or at least a consistent run of greatness and glory that would take place until 2014. Tim Duncan was the reigning Rookie of the Year award winner when the 1998-99 NBA season started, but the sophomore had big things to achieve that year.
With David Robinson on the frontcourt, the Spurs had a fierce interior defense with a pair of 'towers'. San Antonio reached the 1999 NBA Finals with an 11-1 record on the Western Conference side of the postseason. The New York Knicks were the rivals of San Antonio in the NBA Finals as they had become the first and so far only eighth seed to reach that stage.
Tim Duncan led the Spurs to a five-game victory in his first appearance in the NBA Finals. He earned the first of his three NBA Finals MVP awards after averaging 27 points, 14 rebounds and two blocks per game.
#3 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - 1971 NBA Finals
Then known as Lew Alcindor, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar took the Milwaukee Bucks to the 1971 NBA Finals and made the most of it. In only his second year in the NBA, Abdul-Jabbar had an incredible regular season, winning the first of his six NBA MVP awards, and then dominated in the NBA Playoffs.
Playing alongside Oscar Robertson, sophomore Abdul-Jabbar was huge in the 1971 NBA Finals as the Bucks swept the Baltimore Bullets.
In the four-game series win, Kareem averaged 27 points and 18.5 rebounds per game while making 60.5% of his field goals and 76% of his free throws. It was the first of his 10 appearances in the NBA Finals (two with Milwaukee and eight with the Showtime LA Lakers).
Later in his career, Abdul-Jabbar won his second and last Finals MVP award (in 1985 after the LA Lakers defeated the Boston Celtics).
#2 Giannis Antetokounmpo - 2021 NBA Finals
Giannis Antetokounmpo had arguably the greatest single-game performance ever seen in an NBA Finals game, and statistically it might be. With his 50-point night with 14 rebounds and five blocks, the 'Greek Freak' became the only player in NBA history to reach those marks in an NBA Finals game.
He was deservedly named Finals MVP as he averaged 35.2 points, 13.2 rebounds, five assists, 1.2 steals and 1.8 blocks per game with a 61.8% field-goal efficiency.
His 50 points are also tied for the most ever scored in a closeout game of the NBA Finals, matching Bob Pettit's night against the Boston Celtics in Game 6 of the 1958 NBA Finals.
Antetokounmpo ended the 2021 NBA Finals with three games of at least 40 points and one 50-point effort. With his NBA Finals MVP award, Antetokounmpo became the third player in NBA history to win the NBA MVP, Defensive Player of the Year and Finals MVP awards during his career (alongside Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon).
#1 Magic Johnson - 1980 NBA Finals
Magic Johnson's performance in the 1980 NBA Finals was unique, especially in Game 6 without Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The 20-year-old rookie had to enter the court without the NBA MVP by his side, but with the LA Lakers enjoying a 3-2 lead over Julius Erving's Philadelphia 76ers.
Without Kareem, Johnson played as LA's center and scored an unbelievable 42 points with 15 rebounds and seven assists to lead the LA Lakers to the NBA championship and win NBA Finals MVP as a rookie.
Of course, Hall-of-Famer Jamaal Wilkes helped with 37 points and 10 rebounds, but Johnson's performance as a rookie will always be iconic and well-remembered by diehard NBA fans.
