These guys walked away with one of the NBA’s highest honors, but many wonder if they should have. In this article, I’ll discuss the five biggest NBA Finals MVP snubs of all time in order of when the series was played. 

1976 NBA Finals: Jo Jo White over Dave Cowens – Jo Jo White cobbled together one hell of a 1976 Finals performance, the merits of which I am not attempting to diminish. He led the Boston Celtics in scoring and assists during their six-game set with the Phoenix Suns, including a masterful 33-point, nine-assist eruption in a do-or-die Game 5 that served up a championship-clinching opportunity in Game 6. For the entire series, though, Dave Cowens registered as Boston’s most impactful player. Not only did he score at a comparable clip—20.5 points per game compared to White’s 21.7—but he grabbed 16.5 boards per night and, most importantly, functioned as the fulcrum for a defense representing more of the Celtics’ identity.

It was likewise Cowens who churned out the bigger night in Game 6. He went for 21 points, 17 rebounds, and three steals, keeping in line with his overall Finals averages while spearheading a late scoring spurt that sealed the win and Boston’s title. 

1978 NBA Finals: Wes Unseld over Elvin Hayes – The 1978 Finals was a competitive seven-game series between the Bullets and the Seattle Supersonics. The first five games didn’t have a winning margin higher than eight points. Seattle held a 3–2 series lead, but Washington stayed alive with a 35-point victory in Game 6. They would win Game 7 to capture their first championship in franchise history. Wes Unseld was named the Finals MVP. Unseld was the team’s leader, but his averages of 9 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 assists per game don’t justify an MVP award. His nine points per game is the lowest of any Finals MVP in history. The honor should have gone to Elvin Hayes, who averaged 20.9 points, 11.9 rebounds, 1.6 steals, and 2 blocks a game.

1988 NBA Finals: James Worthy over Magic Johnson – The ‘88 Finals was competitive as it ended up being a seven-game series. James Worthy had the series-defining game in Game 7 with 36 points, 16 rebounds, and 10 assists. The Lakers became the first team to repeat as champions in almost 20 years. Worthy had a good series, but Magic Johnson was the most consistent player for Los Angeles. Magic finished with averages of 21.1 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 13.0 APG, and two steals per game on 55% shooting. 

2008 NBA Finals: Paul Pierce over Ray Allen – The 2008 Boston Celtics pulled off one of the greatest turnarounds in NBA history. Boston had the second-worst record in the 2006-07 season, but they acquired Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen ahead of the 2007-08 season. Boston won a league-high 66 games that year. That propelled them to an NBA Finals matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers. The Celtics defeated the Lakers in six games to capture Boston’s first title in 22 years. Pierce was named the Finals MVP. Pierce had some big moments throughout the series, but also had a couple of bad games. In Game 3, he went 2-14. He had 38 points and 8 rebounds in Game 5, but the Celtics suffered a five-point loss.

The Celtics’ big three had an impressive Finals performance as Garnett was the defensive leader while Allen was extremely efficient, but Pierce earned Finals MVP after leading the team with 21.8 points. Ray Allen was more consistent, averaging 20.3 points and 5 rebounds on 50.7% shooting from the field, 52.4% from three, and 86.7% from the free throw line. This included a 26-point performance in the closeout game six in which he hit seven threes.  

2015 NBA Finals: Andre Iguodala over Stephen Curry – Curry averaged 26.0 points, 6.3 assists, and 1.8 steals, which included his performance in game five when he had 37 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 steals and made seven three-pointers. Iguodala’s body of work on LeBron helped turn that series. Iguodala averaged 16.5 points and 4.0 assists per game on 40.0 percent shooting from distance. Stephen Curry was the basis for everything the Warriors did, bending defenses with his gravity in a way that made them who they were more than any defensive matchup or lineup tweak could.

End of Rant – This article didn’t put every questionable decision under the microscope. Jerry West’s victory in 1969, the inaugural Finals MVP that remains the only one ever awarded to someone from the losing team, is not on the relitigation block. It definitely could’ve gone to John Havlicek, but West was ridiculous over the course of those seven games, averaging 37.9 points and 7.4 assists. To be clear, I’m not saying that some of these players didn’t deserve the MVP trophy. However, in many cases, there were other players who deserved it just as much.