Could a player on losing team win MVP?
Posted on: June 15,2015
One guy’s opinion on the NBA playoffs, which the Warriors now lead three games to two:
Golden State’s Stephen Curry, who shoots as if the basket is four feet wide, won the NBA MVP for the season, and that’s all well and good.
The best player on the planet remains LeBron James, and he showed in Game Five with his 40 ponts, 14 rebounds and 11 assists. No telling how many assists James would have had if his teammates had finished after several of his precise passes. They did not.
And so we are left to go back to basketball’s most telling adage: A better team (almost) always beats a great player. That the Cavs have won twice is this series is a testament to James’ greatness.
James has averaged 36 points in the series, despite being quite unselfish. He involves his teammates. In fact, he insists on his teammates being involved. Besides being the best player in the series, he has been the best passer.
Conversely, Curry makes long-distance shots that harken back to Pete Maravich. His range seemingly begins when he passes the mid-court line. He can create his own shot with his ball-handling skills. He can go to the bucket, too. He is the MVP of the best team.
I would not be surprised to see the Cavs win Game 6 and this series go back to the Bay Area. But I will be surprised if Cleveland wins the series now, simply because Golden State is the better team.
But you could make a case — as I think I have — that no matter who wins this series, the finals MVP wears No. 23 for Cleveland. It has happened once before in NBA history. When the Boston Celtics defeated the Los Angeles Lakers four games to three in 1969, Laker Jerry West won the MVP.
Interestingly, West now works for the Golden State Warriors.
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