Has a Finals MVP ever been won by a player on the losing team?
The Dallas Mavericks are down 0-2 to the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals, but it’s no fault of Luka Doncic who has been the best player in the series.
For the first time since 2011, the Dallas Mavericks are back in the NBA Finals looking to bring the second Larry O’Brien Trophy home, but have an uphill battle after falling behind 0-2 to the Boston Celtics. Boston are now two wins away from winning their NBA Championship, but with everyone contributing for Joe Mazzulla’s side choosing an Finals MVP could be difficult.
Celtics sharing the spotlight
The Boston Celtics pride themselves on being a complete team in every sense of the word. From top to bottom, everyone knows their role and they play it well. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are the stars of the show, but that doesn’t mean that they are the ones that have to lead the team in scoring on a nightly basis.
Just look at the first couple games of the Finals. Kristaps Porzingis went wild in his return from a strained calf, and scored 18 points in the first half of Game 1 to help the Celtics build a 29 point lead in an eventual blow out win over the Mavs. While the Latvian ended up a point behind Jaylen Brown who had a team high 22 points, Porzingis was the difference maker in the series opener.
In Game 2, both Brown and Tatum bowed out of the spotlight as Jrue Holiday put the team on his back and carried Boston to victory. The Mavs switched up their defensive strategy from the first to the second game. Double teams came fast and furious for Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. That meant there was space on the floor to be exploited and that’s exactly what the experience vet did. He had a game high 26 on a night that Brown and Tatum went 14/37 from the field. Tatum heads to Dallas for Game 3 averaging 17.5 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists while Brown is getting 21.5 points, 5 rebounds and 4.5 assists.
Luka not backing down from the moment
While the Mavs have struggled in the series, one player that hasn’t struggled is their Slovenian sensation Luka Doncic. The 25 year old, who is playing in his first NBA Finals has showed that there is no stage too big for him. He came out in Game 1 and dropped 30 and 10 in his debut. In the next game, he posted his first career Finals triple double with 32, 11, and 11 assists. He did have eight of the Mavs 15 turnovers as well, but when you don’t get much help from your teammates it understandable that he was forced into some uncomfortable situations.
Dallas’ shooting has been horrific outside of the former Real Madrid star that won the Euroleague MVP as a teenager. He is 8/21 from downtown through the first two games, but the rest of the starters have shot just 3/21 from three point range through the first three games. If the Mavs are even going to win a game in the series, Luka is going to have to be as good as he has been in the first couple games but he is going to need some help from Kyrie Irving and the rest of the crew.
If Luka keeps posting numbers like he has been while the Celtics role players continue to step up and raise to the occasion like we have seen in the two games from TD Garden than we might be on the verge of witnessing something that has only happened once in NBA history: a player from the losing team named the MVP of the Finals. Right now he is a +500 at BETMGM, trailing Jayton Tatum (+130) and Jaylen Brown (+160) after Game 2.
West’s wild Finals in ‘69
Back in 1969, the Celtics and Lakers met in a clash of titans as Bill Russel and Boston took on Jerry West and LA. The series went to a seventh and decisive game after five of the first six games were decided by single digits. The Celtics went into LA and won Game 7 in what is considered one of the great upsets in NBA Finals history.
While the series has gone down as one of the best and closest championship series ever, it is also remembered for the remarkable performance of Jerry West. In a series with legendary players like Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, John Havlicek and Bill Russell it was West who set himself apart and almost carried the Lakers to title glory all on his own.
West averaged 37.9 points, 4.7 rebound and 7.4 assists in the seven games against Boston and scored 42 points while dishing 12 assists in Game 7 before eventually falling to the Celtics 108-106. In a bittersweet moment, West was presented the Finals MVP after the Lakers got their hearts broken in front of their home fans. He became the first and only player in NBA history to have lost the Finals while being named MVP of the series.