Jerry West Won NBA Finals MVP Award in 1969

Published on April 10th, 2025 7:33 pm EST
Written By: Dave Manuel


Who is the only player to ever win the NBA Finals MVP award on a losing team?

It wasn't Michael Jordan, as MJ never lost when the Bulls made it to the finals.

It wasn't LeBron James.

It wasn't Kobe Bryant.

In 1969, Jerry West became the first and only player to ever win the NBA Finals MVP award in a losing effort.

Jerry West and the Los Angeles Lakers were taking on the Boston Celtics in the Finals that year.

The series featured a number of future Hall of Famers, including West, Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, Bill Russell and John Havlicek, to name a few.

The series was an absolute classic, with the Lakers jumping out to an early 2-0 lead in the series. The home teams won every game until the 7th and final game of the series, when the Boston Celtics won at the Forum in Inglewood, California, to clinch the title.

Jerry West was absolutely unconscious during the series, averaging a total of 37.9 points per game, 4.7 rebounds per game and 7.4 assists per game.

John Havlicek of the Boston Celtics was on fire as well, averaging 28.3 points and 11 rebounds per game. In any other series, Havlicek would have likely won the Finals MVP Award, but Jerry West put together a truly special performance in the 1969 Finals.

West would lead the two teams in scoring in five of the seven games, including three 40+ point performances, one of which was a 53 point gem in the opening game of the series.

It was truly tough to deny West the MVP award in 1969.

-

LeBron James was likely the closest to ever winning another Finals MVP award on a losing team.

In the 2014-15 NBA Finals, James averaged 35.8 points per game, 13.3 rebounds per game and 8.8 assists per game, and still didn't win the award.