Even though the Cleveland Cavaliers lost the NBA Finals to the Golden State Warriors 4-2, LeBron James had a compelling case to win the MVP award. Through three games he was having arguably the greatest Finals of any player in NBA history, and even though he wore down over the final three games from carrying his historically weak supporting cast, LeBron still set an impressive mark in the Finals:
By averaging 35.8 points, 13.3 rebounds and 8.8 assists, LeBron James became the 1st player in NBA history to lead both teams in points, rebounds and assists.
So you can understand why, when it came time to vote for the MVP, LeBron was firmly in the discussion. Sure, only one player in NBA Finals history had been MVP from a losing team (Jerry West), but given what James did to carry his depleted Cavs to two victories, you can understand why he received four of the 11 votes. Stephen Curry received none. Here’s the final tally:
Andre Iguodala capturing MVP is totally understandable. Once he was inserted into the starting lineup, the Warriors peeled off three straight victories. He did a serviceable job on LeBron James in the final few games. Did LeBron have a better series? Yes. Is it still OK to give Iguodala the MVP because his team won the Title? Yes.