The 2025 NBA Finals sees the Oklahoma City Thunder take on the Indiana Pacers in a fascinating match-up that pits some of the best young players in the game today against each other. The likes of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Tyrese Haliburton will be hoping to inspire their teams to glory, and will no doubt be eyeing the Finals MVP award at the end of it all.
Some of the NBA's greatest ever players have got their hands on the trophy after carrying their teams to titles, and below is a ranking of the 10 best NBA Finals MVPs ever. When the spotlight was at its brightest, these were the players who stepped up.
Ranking Factors
NBA Finals MVP awards won
Their performances in the Finals
Their team and quality of teammates
Who they came up against in the Finals
10 Kobe Bryant
NBA Finals MVPs won: 2009, 2010
A five-time NBA champion, Kobe Bryant was arguably overshadowed as a Los Angeles Laker when Shaquille O'Neal was in town, with the big man receiving the Finals MVP award during the franchise's incredible three-peat at the turn of the century. If as to prove that he could win without the Big Diesel, Bryant would go all-in to lead the Lakers to another couple of titles, this time with him being the leading man.
NBA_Top 10 LAK Related
Top 10 Players in Los Angeles Lakers History
The Los Angeles Lakers have had many great players throughout their rich history, but only one can be their greatest of all time.
His first MVP came when he helped defeat the Orlando Magic in a five-game series, but it was his second and final one that took the cake from a personal perspective. Coming up in a rematch against the Boston Celtics - the Lakers had lost in the finals back in 2008 - the series went all the way to a decisive Game 7, with Bryant scoring 10 points in the final quarter to seal a remarkable comeback. His 15 rebounds in the contest was the joint-most in an NBA Finals game by a shooting guard, with Bryant himself later declaring the victory was his most satisfying championship.
9 Hakeem Olajuwon
NBA Finals MVPs won: 1994, 1995
Hakeem Olajuwon is one of the greatest centers to ever play the game of basketball, and his run during the early 1990s were legendary to say the least. Despite playing in an era with arguably the best players in NBA history in his position, Olajuwon invariably came out on top - not least in the seven-game NBA Finals series in 1994 against Patrick Ewing and the New York Knicks. The Houston Rockets star outscored Ewing in every game and on better shooting and helped stage a comeback from being 3-2 down.
A year later, the Rockets would sweep the Orlando Magic, who were led by a very young Shaquille O'Neal. Olajuwon would once again outscore his key match-up in the Finals, and would finish the playoffs in general averaging a double-double of over 30 points and 10 points per game.
8 Larry Bird
NBA Finals MVPs won: 1984, 1986
Having been named the MVP of the league in the 1983/1984 season, Larry Bird would lead the Boston Celtics to the NBA Finals to take on the Los Angeles Lakers. After almost seeing his team go 3-1 down in the series, Bird would carry the side to a fine comeback on the back of averaging 27.4 points, 14 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game over the course of the Finals.
Ranking the best small forwards of all-time in the NBA featuring Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird, Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James and the Phoenix Suns' Kevin Durant Related
10 Best Small Forwards in NBA History (Ranked)
Some of the greatest players in basketball have played at the small forward position.
Then, just a couple of years later, Bird and Celtic would return to the Finals once again - indeed, sports writer and commentator Bill Simmons has previously said that this 1985/1986 iteration of the side is the greatest basketball team of all-time. A Finals match-up against the Houston Rockets would go all the way to a Game 6, when Larry Legend would record a triple-double of 29 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists to seal the title.
7 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
NBA Finals MVPs won: 1971, 1985
The man who once held the record of the most points in NBA history, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's name remains legendary despite being overtaken by LeBron James in that regard. Such was the center's incredible longevity, that both of his NBA Finals MVP awards came 14 years apart - one in 1971 with the Milwaukee Bucks, and then in 1985 while with the Los Angeles Lakers.
The first award came after a season in which the Bucks had acquired now Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson, and along with Abdul-Jabbar - then known as Lew Alcindor - they swept the Baltimore Bullets in the Finals. In 1985, he would win his second Finals MVP, becoming the oldest player to do so in the process at the age of 38 years and 54 days. He averaged over 25 points and nine rebounds per game against the Boston Celtics, and would help end the Lakers' torment of losing eight consecutive title clashes to Boston.
6 Kawhi Leonard
NBA Finals MVPs won: 2014, 2019
What perhaps makes Kawhi Leonard's two Finals MVP awards more impressive, is the fact he did so with two wildly different teams. In 2014 with the San Antonio Spurs, the Claw would come up against LeBron James and the Miami Heat, but with legendary teammates like Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan. But instead of deferring to his more senior pros, Leonard took it upon himself to become the third youngest winner of the Finals MVP award, and the first since Chauncey Billups in 2004 to do so without being named an All-Star that same season.
Then, in 2019, Leonard would become the defacto leader of the Toronto Raptors, carrying the Canadian franchise on his back and powering them past the albeit depleted Golden State Warriors. His relentless work ethic and willingness to take the tough shot whenever it was needed proved absolutely vital for a Toronto team lacking in title experience.
5 Tim Duncan
NBA Finals MVPs won: 1999, 2003, 2005
Known as 'The Big Fundamental', Tim Duncan is perhaps the greatest power forward of all-time. The San Antonio Spurs legend became only the third player behind Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to be awarded the NBA Finals MVP award within the first two seasons of him being drafted, doing so in 1999.
NBA_Power FWD Related
Best NBA Power Forwards of All Time, Ranked
From Tim Duncan to Bob Petit, all the way to Giannis Antetokounmpo, there's no shortage of excellent power forwards. GIVEMESPORT ranks in the top 10.
In 2003, the Spurs would face off against the New Jersey Nets, and in the Game 6 to clinch the title, Duncan would record his biggest game of the series, nearly completing a quadruple double. Duncan would then seal his third and final NBA Finals MVP award when the Spurs took on the Detroit Pistons, with coach Gregg Popovich waxing lyrical about the kind of importance he had on the team.
[Duncan's] complete game is so sound, so fundamental, so unnoticed at times, because if he didn't score, people think, 'Well, he didn't do anything'. But he was incredible and he was the force that got it done for us.
4 Magic Johnson
NBA Finals MVPs won: 1980, 1982, 1987
Widely regarded as the best point guard of all-time, Magic Johnson's combination of size, vision and IQ made him almost unstoppable during the Los Angeles Lakers' championship runs during the 1980s. His Finals MVP award win in 1980 was arguably the most impressive, given that he was in his rookie season - he is still the only player to do so - and in Game 6, he started at the center position.
Johnson would then win his second Finals MVP award just a couple of years later when again they would take on the Philadelphia 76ers, while in 1987, he would lead the Lakers past perennial rivals Boston Celtics in six games. It was in Game 4 that Magic would hit the game-winning shot over both Robert Parish and Kevin McHale, which he would later dub as the "junior, junior, junior sky-hook".
3 Shaquille O'Neal
NBA Finals MVPs won: 2000, 2001, 2002
One of the most dominant players in NBA history, Shaquille O'Neal's performances in the Finals during the Los Angeles Lakers' three-peat from 2000 to 2002 is legendary. Indeed, his Finals MVP award in 2000 made him only the third player ever to also have claimed the NBA MVP and All-Star Game MVP in the same season - the others being Willis Reed and Michael Jordan.
O'Neal has since claimed that much of the Lakers offense would revolve around him, with Phil Jackson opting to let him dominate first rather than co-star Kobe Bryant. Speaking on The Draymond Green Podcast in 2024, he said:
He (Bryant) sacrificed, he did. Because all those Finals where he helped me win a championship, he damn sure could have easily got Finals MVP, but that was our plan. Big dog, you for the first three (quarters) and the fourth, I take over.
In all three years, O'Neal would average more points than Bryant, with the 2000 Finals against the Indiana Pacers being the biggest discrepancy - he would average 38 points per game compared to Bryant's 15.6.
2 LeBron James
NBA Finals MVPs won: 2012, 2013, 2016, 2020
It is a testament to LeBron James' incredible ability and longevity, that even at the age of 40, you wouldn't put it past him to add to his four NBA Finals MVPs. King James picked up his first couple of awards after forming the NBA's most potent 'big three' alongside Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, before he would make the return to the Cleveland Cavaliers and lead the franchise to their first ever title in 2016.
Ranking the best players in the NBA right now featuring the Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo, Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic and Los Angeles Lakers legend LeBron James Related
10 Best NBA Players Right Now (2025)
LeBron James might be in his 40s, but he is still one of the greatest basketball players in the world.
In 2020, James would add to his already storied legacy by leading the Los Angeles Lakers to the championship, and in the process, would become the first player in NBA history to win the Finals MVP award with three different teams.
1 Michael Jordan
NBA Finals MVPs won: 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998
The GOAT of basketball in many people's eyes, much of Michael Jordan's fans will point to his incredible success when it came to crunch time in the playoffs. The Chicago Bulls' two separate three-peats in the 1990s laid much to Jordan's ability, and tendency to rise to the occasion when the spotlight was brightest.
Ranking the best NBA teams of all-time featuring Larry Bird's Boston Celtics, Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls and Stephen Curry's Golden State Warriors Related
15 Best NBA Teams of All-Time (Ranked)
From record-breaking seasons to dynastic runs, here are the greatest teams in NBA history.
In every single one of the Bulls' titles, it was Jordan who would end up winning the Finals MVP award, knocking off fearsome competitors like Charles Barkley, John Stockton and many others along the way. Jordan's game-winning jumper in Game 6 of the 1998 Finals against the Utah Jazz still stands the test of time, and is now simply known as 'The Shot'.