Warriors guard Andre Iguodala named NBA Finals MVP

Golden State Warriors guard Andre Iguodala has been named Most Valuable Player of the 2015 NBA Finals.

SI Wire | Jun 17, 2015

Warriors guard Andre Iguodala named NBA Finals MVP /

Golden State Warriors guard Andre Iguodala was named Most Valuable Player of the 2015 NBA Finals after the Warriors' 105–97 Game 6 victory in Cleveland on Tuesday night.

The Warriors defeated the Cavaliers 4-2 to capture their first NBA title since 1975.

Iguodala received seven of 11 votes on the MVP ballot, with Cleveland forward LeBron James receiving the other four.

The 31-year-old Iguodala averaged 16.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.0 assists in his first career Finals. He was often tasked with guarding James. In the clinching Game 6, Iguodala scored 25 points.

Stephen Curry, Warriors cap charmed title run with fitting finish in the Finals

After the series win, Warriors forward Draymond Green said Iguodala “saved this season for us.”

Prior to Game 6, SI.com's Ben Golliver argued that the MVP was James's to lose. Jerry West is the only player in NBA history to be named MVP of the Finals in a losing effort, doing so with the Lakers in 1969.

• MORE NBA: Warriors' title package: Commemorative book, framed cover

James averaged 35.8 points, 13.3 rebounds and 8.8 assists per game. He scored 40 or more points three times in the series, including notching 44 points in Game 1, a career-high for James in the Finals. He recorded a triple-double in Games 2 and 5.

• MORE NBA: Andre and the Giant | Steve Kerr: Ringmaster | Curry's flurries

NBA Finals MVP Iguodala Postseason Shot Chart | PointAfter

GALLERY: Sports Illustrated's best NBA Finals photos from Game 6

Golden State Warriors Win The NBA Title

John W. McDonough for Sports Illustrated

The Golden State Warriors won Game 6 of the NBA Finals 105-97 over the Cleveland Cavaliers to clinch the franchise's first NBA title since 1975.

The Warriors are the third straight one-seed to win the title, following in footsteps of the San Antonio Spurs in 2014 and the Miami Heat in 2013.

Golden State trailed by two points early in the third quarter but quieted the crowd in Cleveland, which has seen the city's three pro teams go a combined 144 seasons without one of them winning a championship.

James was replaced in the final seconds, but before he left the court, the four-time MVP shook hands with Steph Curry and offered congratulations to coach Steve Kerr and the rest of the Warriors. (Text credit: AP)

Andre Iguodala was named Finals MVP and celebrates here with regular season MVP Steph Curry.

Inserted into the Warriors starting lineup for the first time all season in Game 4 of the NBA Finals, Andre Iguodala proved his worth by helping lead Golden State to three consecutive wins and the title. He scored 25 in Game 6.

Draymond Green, pictured here holding down Timofey Mozgov, enjoyed a triple double in Game 6 -- 16 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.

Steph Curry goes to the left hand to score two of his 25 points.

LeBron James had 32 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists in the losing effort.

Klay Thompson scored five points for Golden State before fouling out late in the fourth quarter.

Steph Curry and the Warriors outscored the Cavaliers 28-18 in the third quarter, quieting a rocking Cleveland crowd in the process. (Text credit: AP)

Cleveland outrebounded Golden State 56-39 in Tuesday's game.

Steph Curry made only three of his 11 three-point attempts and hit eight of 19 overall.

Tristan Thompson throws down two of his 15 points.

Draymond Green muscles up over LeBron James, who has now lost in four NBA Finals.

LeBron James returned to Ohio this season to try to end Cleveland's title drought but didn't have a strong enough supporting cast after season-ending injuries to Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love.

Steph Curry, the Warriors' first MVP since Wilt Chamberlain, hustled from start to finish in Game 6.

- Molly Geary

Published Jun 17, 2015

SI WIRE

Delivering breaking sports news in real time.