Finals MVP of NBA Finals Losers

[gotbacon23]

Jerry West won the Finals MVP despite losing in 1969, which got me thinking- who has played the best for losing teams since then? I just started in the 1980s...

1980 (Sixers)- Julius Erving, 25.5 ppg 7.0 rpg 5.0 apg 52% fg 2.0 spg 2.3 bpg
1981 (Rockets)- Moses Malone, 22.2 ppg 16.3 rpg 2.2 bpg 40% fg
1982 (Sixers)- Julius Erving, 25.0 ppg 8.2 rpg 3.3 apg 54% fg
1983 (Lakers)- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 23.5 ppg 7.5 rpg 3.0 apg 2.3 bpg 55% fg
1984 (Lakers)- Magic Johnson 18.1 ppg 13.6 apg 7.7 rpg 2.0 spg 56% fg
1985 (Celtics)- Kevin McHale 26.0 ppg 10.7 rpg 1.5 bpg 60% fg
1986 (Rockets)- Hakeem Olajuwon 24.7 ppg 11.8 rpg 3.2 bpg 2.3 spg 48% fg
1987 (Celtics)- Larry Bird 24.2 ppg 10.0 rpg 5.5 apg 1.2 spg 1.2 bpg 45% fg
1988 (Pistons)- Adrian Dantley 21.3 ppg 5.0 rpg 2.1 apg 57% fg
1989 (Lakers)- James Worthy 25.5 ppg 4.5 rpg 2.8 apg 48% fg
1990 (Blazers)- Clyde Drexler 26.4 ppg 7.8 rpg 6.2 apg 1.8 spg 54% fg
1991 (Lakers)- Magic Johnson 18.6 ppg 8.0 rpg 12.4 apg 43% fg
1992 (Blazers)- Clyde Drexler 24.8 ppg 7.5 rpg 5.3 apg 1.3 spg 41% fg
1993 (Suns)- Charles Barkley 27.3 ppg 13.0 rpg 5.7 apg 48% fg
1994 (Knicks)- Patrick Ewing, 18.9 ppg 12.4 rpg 4.3 bpg 37% fg
1995 (Magic)- Shaquille O'Neal 28.0 ppg 12.5 rpg 6.3 apg 2.3 bpg 59% fg
1996 (Sonics)- Shawn Kemp 23.3 ppg 10.0 rpg 2.0 bpg 55% fg
1997 (Jazz)- Karl Malone 23.8 ppg 10.3 rpg 3.5 apg 44% fg
1998 (Jazz)- Karl Malone 25.0 ppg 10.5 rpg 3.8 apg 50% fg
1999 (Knicks)- Latrell Sprewell 26.0 ppg 6.6 rpg 2.6 apg 41% fg
2000 (Pacers)- Jalen Rose 23.0 ppg 4.5 rpg 3.0 apg 47% fg
2001 (Sixers)- Allen Iverson 35.6 ppg 5.6 rpg 3.8 apg 41% fg
2002 (Nets)- Jason Kidd 20.8 ppg 9.8 apg 7.3 rpg 2.3 spg 44% fg
2003 (Nets)- Jason Kidd 19.7 ppg 7.8 apg 6.2 rpg 36% fg
2004 (Lakers)- Shaquille O'Neal 26.6 ppg 10.8 rpg 63% fg
2005 (Pistons)- Chauncy Billups 20.4 ppg 5.0 rpg 6.2 apg 43% fg
2006 (Mavericks)- Dirk Nowitzki 22.8 ppg 10.8 rpg 2.5 apg 39% fg
2007 (Cavs)- Lebron James 22.0 ppg 7.0 rpg 6.3 apg 36% fg
2008 (Lakers)- Kobe Bryant 25.7 ppg 5.0 apg 4.7 rpg 2.7 spg 41% fg
2009 (Magic)- Dwight Howard 15.4 ppg 15.2 rpg 4.0 bpg 49% fg

now some of them are up to debate (1982 could be andrew toney, 1985 could be larry bird, 1987 could be dennis johnson, 1988 could be isiah thomas, 1994 could be john starks or charles oakley, 1996 could be gary payton, 2000 could be reggie miller, 2006 cold be jason terry, 2009 could be hedo) but these are what they are in my opinion. since 1980, my all-finals "loser" team would be...

pg- magic johnson '84
sg- clyde drexler '90
sf- julius erving '80
pf- charles barkley '93
c- shaquille o'neal '95

any thoughts, disagreements, etc??

[G.O.A.T]

First thoughts are great thread and thanks for your research!

Where did you get such through NBA Finals stats?

In 1988 I'm going with Isiah over Dantley. That35 point second half in game six was unreal. And doing it on an injured then badly injured ankle forget it.

That would have been the clincher fro Detroit if the referee that day had eyes or dignity and din't whistle the foul of Laimbeer for breathing on Kareem with 10 seconds left.

What were his stats for the series?

Seems strange to see Spreewell and Jalen Rose up there, I would have thought Houston and Miller, but it's not as if I remember specifically who played well, just remember that Chris Dudley and Charlie Ward played major minutes for the Knicks and that they had no chance against the Twin Towers. Also for some reason all that sticks out about the 200 finals is Austin Croshere; wasn't he playing out of his mind for those playoffs?

Hard to argue with the Doc as your all-time small forward and they did get swept in '89, but James Worthy was so good in that series just keeping the games close. Remember Magic and Byron Scott were done by game three and Kareem was on the verge of his actual retirement.

Still even with that, very hard to argue against Doc in '80.

Again good thread and thanks for the effort.

[Da_Realist]

1985 -- Kevin McHale would have deserved the MVP, had the Celtics won the series.

1988 -- Isiah was great and was the Pistons best player, but Dantley carried that team every single game. He was untouchable. Isiah was the ultimate closer and had the iconic Game 6, but Dantley would have deserved it had the Pistons won.

1994 -- Patrick was a force defensively, but John Starks and Derek Harper carried the Knicks offensively. If the Knicks had won, I would have probably chosen Starks.

[gotbacon23]

First thoughts are great thread and thanks for your research!

Where did you get such through NBA Finals stats?

In 1988 I'm going with Isiah over Dantley. That35 point second half in game six was unreal. And doing it on an injuried then badly injuried ankle foret it.

That would have been the clincher fro Detroit if the referee that day had eyes or dignity and din't whistle the foul of Laimbeer for breathing on Kareem with 10 seconds left.

What were his stats for the series?

Seems strange to see Spreewell and Jalen Rose up there, I would have thought Houston and Miller, but it's not as if I remember specifically who played well, just remember that Chris Dudley and Charlie Ward played major minutes for the Knicks and that they had no chance against the Twin Towers. Also for some reason all that sticks out about the 200 finals is Austin Croshere; wasn't he playing out of his mind for those playoffs?

Hard to argue with the Doc as your all-time small forward and they did get swept in '89, but James Worthy was so good in that series just keeping the games close. Remember Magic and Byron Scott were done by game three and Kareem was on the verge of his actual retirement.

Still even with that, very hard to argue against Doc in '80.

Again good thread and thanks for the effort.

this website has nba finals box scores through 2002
http://webuns.chez-alice.fr/home.htm

beyond 2002 i got the data from basketball-reference.com

isiah got 19.7 and 9.0 apg in '88 but he also shot worse than dantley (42%) and had more turnovers per game (3.7- which is expected anyway though as the pg). i am a little too young to remember '88 so some of this was strictly on the numbers basis, but i did notice that isiah had games of 4 for 12, 4 of 13, 2 for 7. without that game 6, isiah only shot 37% from the field. and was isiah's 41 point 8 assist on 18-32 shooting effort in a game 6 win really THAT much more impressive than adrian dantley's 34 points on 14 for 16 shooting game 1 effort (both wins for detroit). i will admit though that i am too young to make a definite call on this. that was just some of my rationale of picking dantley over thomas.

[G.O.A.T]

this website has nba finals box scores through 2002
http://webuns.chez-alice.fr/home.htm

beyond 2002 i got the data from basketball-reference.com

isiah got 19.7 and 9.0 apg in '88 but he also shot worse than dantley (42%) and had more turnovers per game (3.7- which is expected anyway though as the pg). i am a little too young to remember '88 so some of this was strictly on the numbers basis, but i did notice that isiah had games of 4 for 12, 4 of 13, 2 for 7. without that game 6, isiah only shot 37% from the field. and was isiah's 41 point 8 assist on 18-32 shooting effort in a game 6 win really THAT much more impressive than adrian dantley's 34 points on 14 for 16 shooting game 1 effort (both wins for detroit). i will admit though that i am too young to make a definite call on this. that was just some of my rationale of picking dantley over thomas.

It's very fair especially the numbers considered. The 4 of 12 was game seven I believe and he was badly hurt and played like half the game if that. And id don't remember going absolutely nuts when Dantley went 14 of 16, I don't remember that at all actually. Probably more because I was a teenager and Dantley was anything but flashy but still. Isiah was like 10 of 11 from the field in the third quarter, mostly on contested jump shots.

Again, I can't argue with it, those are pretty equal stats and Dantley was certainly more efficient and consistent.

Thanks for the link as well.

[gotbacon23]

1985 -- Kevin McHale would have deserved the MVP, had the Celtics won the series.

1988 -- Isiah was great and was the Pistons best player, but Dantley carried that team every single game. He was untouchable. Isiah was the ultimate closer and had the iconic Game 6, but Dantley would have deserved it had the Pistons won.

1994 -- Patrick was a force defensively, but John Starks and Derek Harper carried the Knicks offensively. If the Knicks had won, I would have probably chosen Starks.

1994 was one of the hardest ones to pick. ewing did pretty crappy offensively, but then you consider that olajuwon was guarding him, whereas vernon maxwell was guarding starks. if the knicks won in 6, it would have been starks, but his game7 was part of the reason that they lost. it was definitely a tough call

[Psileas]

A good idea, here's a similar list I made for 1957 and on:

1957: Bob Pettit
1958: Bob Cousy
1959: Elgin Baylor
1960: Bob Pettit
1961: Bob Pettit
1962: Elgin Baylor
1963: Elgin Baylor
1964: Wilt Chamberlain
1965: Jerry West
1966: Jerry West
1967: Rick Barry
1968: Jerry West
1969: Jerry West
1970: Jerry West
1971: Wes Unseld
1972: Walt Frazier
1973: Too close to tell (Chamberlain, West and Goodrich have cases)
1974: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
1975: Elvin Hayes
1976: Alvan Adams
1977: Julius Erving
1978: Marvin Webster
1979: Elvin Hayes
1980: Julius Erving
1981: Moses Malone
1982: Julius Erving
1983: Magic Johnson
1984: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
1985: Larry Bird or Kevin McHale
1986: Hakeem Olajuwon
1987: Larry Bird
1988: Isiah Thomas
1989: James Worthy (with Magic not playing)
1990: Clyde Drexler
1991: Magic Johnson
1992: Clyde Drexler
1993: Charles Barkley
1994: Patrick Ewing (ironically, he still pretty much got owned by Hakeem) or Starks
1995: Shaquille O'Neal
1996: Shawn Kemp
1997: Karl Malone
1998: Karl Malone
1999: Latrell Sprewell
2000: Jalen Rose or Reggie Miller
2001: Allen Iverson
2002: Jason Kidd
2003: Jason Kidd
2004: Shaquille O'Neal
2005: Chauncey Billups
2006: Dirk Nowitzki
2007: Lebron James
2008: Kobe Bryant
2009: Between Howard, Hedo or Lewis

[noob cake]

Ewing got raped by Hakeem
1994 (Knicks)- Patrick Ewing, 18.9 ppg 12.4 rpg 4.3 bpg 37% fg

So sick
1990 (Blazers)- Clyde Drexler 26.4 ppg 7.8 rpg 6.2 apg 1.8 spg 54% fg

Most talented chucker in the history of NBA
2001 (Sixers)- Allen Iverson 35.6 ppg 5.6 rpg 3.8 apg 41% fg

[momo]

Great post and @ GOAT, yea, Croshere was playing out of his mind... I do not know if it is "Loser MVP outa his mind" but I do remember all my buddies wanting the lakers to trade for him later... due to that performance.

[gotbacon23]

Ewing got raped by Hakeem
1994 (Knicks)- Patrick Ewing, 18.9 ppg 12.4 rpg 4.3 bpg 37% fg

So sick
1990 (Blazers)- Clyde Drexler 26.4 ppg 7.8 rpg 6.2 apg 1.8 spg 54% fg

Most talented chucker in the history of NBA
2001 (Sixers)- Allen Iverson 35.6 ppg 5.6 rpg 3.8 apg 41% fg

ewing did get raped, but that series was a brutal defensive series. check out the scores of the games:

85 to 78
83 to 91
93 to 89
82 to 91
84 to 91
86 to 84
90 to 84

that's brutally low scoring. the rockets shot 42% for the series and the knicks shot 40.7% - so ewing shooting 37% was only a little bit off the average.

getting 19 ppg when the average series score was 86.1 to 86.9 ain't that bad.

[G.O.A.T]

Great post and @ GOAT, yea, Croshere was playing out of his mind... I do not know if it is "Loser MVP outa his mind" but I do remember all my buddies wanting the lakers to trade for him later... due to that performance.

Certainly didn't think he was playing at an MVP level, just that he probably had the best two weeks of his career.

I remember him at Providence right around the God Shammgod era. Dude had game, we Pistons fans wanted him too.

Funny how reactive fans can be.

Were you following the team closely in 1999 and if so, what was the reaction amongst your crew to the Phil Jackson hire?

Also a bit before that the Rodman signing?

[noob cake]

ewing did get raped, but that series was a brutal defensive series. check out the scores of the games:

85 to 78
83 to 91
93 to 89
82 to 91
84 to 91
86 to 84
90 to 84

that's brutally low scoring. the rockets shot 42% for the series and the knicks shot 40.7% - so ewing shooting 37% was only a little bit off the average.

getting 19 ppg when the average series score was 86.1 to 86.9 ain't that bad.

Hakeem's 26.9 ppg on 50% shooting vs Ewing's 18.9 ppg on 37% shooting

[G.O.A.T]

ewing did get raped, but that series was a brutal defensive series. check out the scores of the games:

85 to 78
83 to 91
93 to 89
82 to 91
84 to 91
86 to 84
90 to 84

that's brutally low scoring. the rockets shot 42% for the series and the knicks shot 40.7% - so ewing shooting 37% was only a little bit off the average.

getting 19 ppg when the average series score was 86.1 to 86.9 ain't that bad.

That was the way of those Knicks teams. Brutal hard to watch (unless your a fan in which case it's beautiful) hoops. Made me hat Ewing, Van Gundy, Riley the whole freaking cast of characters from those Knicks and later Heat teams that played such a methodical deliberate style of offense.

I just remember Ewing really struggling vs. Hakeem, very few double teams and the refs really letting them play.

I have that series on tape, think I'll watch games one and seven tonight.

[gotbacon23]

I remember him at Providence right around the God Shammgod era. Dude had game, we Pistons fans wanted him too.

made the elite 8 in 1997, upsetting duke along the way. make no mistake though, it was croshere's team, not shammgod's.

[Lebron23]

2010 - Paul Pierce or Kevin Garnett
2011 - Dwyane Wade
2012 - Kevin Durant
2013- Tim Duncan
2014 - Lebron James