Is LeBron the Finals MVP even if the Cavaliers lose?
At no point in recent history has a player been as dominant in the NBA Finals as LeBron James has been in 2015, and still found themselves on the verge of losing the series.
To be clear, that's not to say the Cleveland Cavaliers will lose. A Game 6 victory over the Golden State Warriors at home on Tuesday would force a seventh game and set the sort of stage - regardless of the auditory capabilities of its setting - one might have trouble betting against James on.
It's been said over and over again, but what the best basketball player in the world has done through five games is nothing short of incredible. Game 4 was the only contest of the series in which he failed to score 30 or more points, and he still finished just two assists shy of a triple-double.
Critics point out his sub-40-percent shooting from the floor and sub-50 true shooting percentage. They may be forgetting that his 32.6 field goal attempts per game in the Finals are the sole byproduct of playing without the Cavs' second- and third-leading scorers.
James averaged 18.5 field goal attempts per game in the regular season. The near-doubling of that number now is why his usage rate is currently an NBA Finals-record 41.3 percent.
To simplify it, the Cavaliers would have been on the golf course weeks ago without him. And isn't that what the definition of the "Most Valuable Player" ought to take into consideration?
Losing teams in championship games or series rarely produce MVPs in those finales. Jerry West was the last to do it in the NBA - in 1969.
| Sport | Last 'losing winner' | Year |
|---|---|---|
| NBA Finals MVP | Jerry West | 1969 |
| Super Bowl MVP | Chuck Howley | 1971 |
| World Series MVP | Bobby Richardson | 1960 |
| Conn Smythe Trophy | Jean-Sebastien Giguere | 2003 |
One of the performances that landed West the award was a 40-point triple-double in the Los Angeles Lakers' losing effort that year against the Boston Celtics.
It was the last such line in an NBA Finals game until James did it on Sunday night.
If you ask LeBron himself, it's unlikely he would care about winning an MVP award for a series he loses. J.S. Giguere didn't exactly look thrilled after winning the Conn Smythe Trophy with the Anaheim Ducks in 2003. The bigger story is how good James is and how dominant the best player of his era can be when he has to carry a team on his back.
Since 1985, players with 35/11/11 in playoffs: LeBron (2009), LeBron (2010), LeBron (2015), LeBron (2015), LeBron (2015).
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) June 15, 2015
If the Cavs lose, regardless of where the MVP goes, the haters and hot-take artists will be quick to point out that James is 2-4 in the Finals, using the tiresome comparison to Michael Jordan's 6-0.
It's worth noting that on Sunday, James surpassed Jordan in postseason minutes. It's also worth noting that comparing LBJ to MJ isn't fair because of the eras in which they played and how much the game has changed. Jordan never had to carry a team playing power forward.
Based on versatility alone, the all-time great that James could be most closely compared to is Magic Johnson.
Magic lost four NBA Finals.