How Does NBA Finals MVP Voting Work? Winners & History

Breaking down the NBA Finals MVP voting process and history as the championship series kicks off.

Jun 12, 2023; Denver, Colorado, USA; The Denver Nuggets celebrate after center Nikola Jokic (15) was awarded the Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP Award / Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

After one of the longer breaks in recent memory, the 2024 NBA Finals have finally arrived. The Boston Celtics will battle the Dallas Mavericks for the crown. There is so much at stake and the two teams present a fascinating matchup. The series has all the ingredients necessary to be an all-timer if things break right for us fans.

One of the many, many subplots that will begin starting at tip-off is who will win the Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP award. Both teams just want to win a title, but earning Finals MVP is a further immortalization of one player's name. Additionally, it is the kind of measure used to decide legacy conversations and Hall of Fame inductions down the line. The fine details of this Celtics-Mavericks series will be forgotten years down the line, but whoever brings home the Finals MVP trophy will always be remembered for the play that earned it.

Oftentimes the choice is clear-cut. The best player from the winning team is usually in pole position to take home the honor because, well, when the best player plays well their team usually wins. Last year, for example, Nikola Jokic earned the honor after averaging 24.5 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 9.8 assists per contest in the Denver Nuggets' five-game series win over the Miami Heat.

Other times, a role player will work their way into consideration with an outstanding sequence of games. The best example of that in recent memory is 2015 Finals MVP Andre Iguodala, who averaged all of 7.8 points per game but played excellent defense on LeBron James in the Golden State Warriors' first championship win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

But how does it all work? Here's everything you need to know about NBA Finals MVP voting heading into this year's exciting title bout.

NBA Finals MVP Voting Explained

Every year, the Finals MVP is determined by 11 media members chosen ahead of the series. After the final game, those 11 individuals will cast their vote for who they feel is the most deserving Finals MVP. The Finals MVP voters are usually a grouping of respected reporters from national and international brands along with local institutions. By polling 11 media members, there's no chance for a tie, either.

Last year, for example, the voters were: Sam Amick of The Athletic, Malika Andrews of ESPN, Doris Burke of ESPN Radio, Miguel Candeias of Portugal's A Bola, Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo! Sports, Mark Jackson of ESPN/ABC, Shaun Powell of NBA.com, Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press, Mike Singer of the Denver Post, Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel, and Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.

The voters for the 2024 NBA Finals will be unveiled after the final game but it's safe to assume it will be a similar ratio of assorted reporters from the print, broadcast, and digital coverage world.

NBA Finals MVP History

The first NBA Finals MVP award was given to Jerry West of the Los Angeles Lakers. Interestingly, West was actually on the losing side of that Finals too, the only instance of a losing player earning Finals MVP in the history of the NBA. Every player since has won both the Finals and the Finals MVP.

In sum total, 55 Finals MVP awards have been given out to 34 players. Michael Jordan, to the surprise of nobody, holds the all-time record with six Finals MVP trophies. Behind him is LeBron James, who has won four.

From 1969 to 2008, the Finals MVP trophy did not have an official title. However, in the middle of the 2008-'09 season, the NBA announced the Finals MVP trophy was now to be named after Bill Russell. Thus, the Bill Russell Finals MVP Award was born; the first winner was Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers, earning the honor after defeating the Orlando Magic in the Finals that year.

NBA Finals MVP Winners

Below you'll find a complete list of all the NBA Finals MVP winners, from West in '69 to Jokic last year.

FINALS MVP WINNER	YEAR	TEAM
Jerry West	1969	Los Angeles Lakers
Willis Reed	1970	New York Knicks
Lew Alcindor	1971	Milwaukee Bucks
Wilt Chamberlain	1972	Los Angeles Lakers
Willis Reed	1973	New York Knicks
John Havilcek	1974	Boston Celtics
Rick Barry	1975	Golden State Warriors
Jo Jo White	1976	Boston Celtics
Bill Walton	1977	Portland Trail Blazers
Wes Unseld	1978	Washington Bullets
Dennis Johnson	1979	Seattle SuperSonics
Magic Johnson	1980	Los Angeles Lakers
Cedric Maxwell	1981	Boston Celtics
Magic Johnson	1982	Los Angeles Lakers
Moses Malone	1983	Philadelphia 76ers
Larry Bird	1984	Boston Celtics
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	1985	Los Angeles Lakers
Larry Bird	1986	Boston Celtics
Magic Johnson	1987	Los Angeles Lakers
James Worthy	1988	Los Angeles Lakers
Joe Dumars	1989	Detroit Pistons
Isiah Thomas	1990	Detroit Pistons
Michael Jordan	1991	Chicago Bulls
Michael Jordan	1992	Chicago Bulls
Michael Jordan	1993	Chicago Bulls
Hakeem Olajuwon	1994	Houston Rockets
Hakeem Olajuwon	1995	Houston Rockets
Michael Jordan	1996	Chicago Bulls
Michael Jordan	1997	Chicago Bulls
Michael Jordan	1998	Chicago Bulls
Tim Duncan	1999	San Antonio Spurs
Shaquille O'Neal	2000	Los Angeles Lakers
Shaquille O'Neal	2001	Los Angeles Lakers
Shaquille O'Neal	2002	Los Angeles Lakers
Tim Duncan	2003	San Antonio Spurs
Chauncey Billups	2004	Detroit Pistons
Tim Duncan	2005	San Antonio Spurs
Dwyane Wade	2006	Miami Heat
Tony Parker	2007	San Antonio Spurs
Paul Pierce	2008	Boston Celtics
Kobe Bryant	2009	Los Angeles Lakers
Kobe Bryant	2010	Los Angeles Lakers
Dirk Nowitzki	2011	Dallas Mavericks
LeBron James	2012	Miami Heat
LeBron James	2013	Miami Heat
Kawhi Leonard	2014	San Antonio Spurs
Andre Iguodala	2015	Golden State Warriors
LeBron James	2016	Cleveland Cavaliers
Kevin Durant	2017	Golden State Warriors
Kevin Durant	2018	Golden State Warriors
Kawhi Leonard	2019	Toronto Raptors
LeBron James	2020	Los Angeles Lakers
Giannis Antetokounmpo	2021	Milwaukee Bucks
Stephen Curry	2022	Golden State Warriors
Nikola Jokic	2023	Denver Nuggets

We'll find out soon who from the Celtics or Nuggets will join this illustrious grouping of players. Enjoy the games!