The two most important individual honors in the NBA are MVP and FMVP, but obviously winning MVP is more valuable because you want to maintain the level of the league's best player throughout the season. As for FMVP, because only one round of the series is considered, it is more accidental, and there have been many examples in history where the first core of the team has won the FMVP, so let's take a look at which finals they are from, and review their performance by the way.
1980 FMVP: 魔术师约翰逊
Abdul-Jabbar averaged 33.4 points, 13.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 4.6 blocks per game
Magic averaged 21.5 points, 11.2 rebounds, 8.7 assists and 2.7 steals per game
The Magic was drafted by the Lakers in 1979, and he reached the Finals with the team in his first season, but the Lakers' best player at the time was obviously Abdul-Jabbar. In the final round of the series against the 76ers, the first four games were evenly matched to a 2-2 draw, and as the leader of the team, Abdul-Jabbar played outstandingly, scoring 33 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists and 6 blocks, 38 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 5 blocks, 33 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 blocks, 23 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 4 blocks.
In the crucial battle of Tianwang Mountain, Abdul-Jabbar seized the opportunity to shoot 16-of-24 and scored 40 points, 15 rebounds, 1 assist and 4 blocks, and under his leadership, the Lakers regained the advantage. However, Abdul-Jabbar was injured unexpectedly after this game, so he will also miss Game 6 of the series, and at that time, it was believed that the Lakers, who seemed to be in the lead, were not optimistic because of Abdul-Jabbar's injury, and some even predicted that they would be beaten by the 76ers in two consecutive games.
However, in the case of losing the big boss, the Magic finally managed to stand up, he slashed 42 points, 15 rebounds and 7 assists in G6, and his outburst directly helped the Lakers end the series, and he also took the opportunity to "take" Abdul-Jabbar's FMVP.
1981 Finals FMVP: Maxwell
Bird averaged 15.3 points, 15.3 rebounds, 7 assists and 2.3 steals per game
Maxwell averaged 17.7 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1 block per game
In the second season of his career, Bird successfully helped the Green Army to the Finals, and against the Rockets led by Moses Malone, the Green Army finally won the championship with a score of 4-2. At the beginning of this series, Bird played at a super high level, G1 and G2 He scored 18 points, 21 rebounds and 9 assists, 19 points, 21 rebounds, 3 assists, 5 steals and 2 blocks respectively.
G3 Bird, who had an average feel, only scored 8 points in the whole game, and also contributed 13 rebounds, 10 assists, 5 steals and 2 blocks, and G5 Tianwang Mountain also got a quasi-triple-double of 12 points, 12 rebounds and 8 assists. In the final tiebreaker, Bird regained his touch and scored 27 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists. However, the FMVP was awarded to Maxwell, who only scored 19 points in G6, and he played slightly better in front of him, who had 28 points, 15 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks in the crucial fifth game.
1988 Finals FMVP: James Worthy
Magic averages: 21.1 points, 5 rebounds, 13 assists, 2 steals per game
Worthy averaged 22 points, 7.4 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game
The two sides can be said to be very anxious in this series, and the Lakers were once led 2-1 by the Pistons twice, but lost the opportunity to get the first match point. In the sixth game, the "smiling assassin" Thomas on the Pistons' side was full of strength to end the series, and in the case of a serious ankle sprain, he slashed 43 points, 8 assists and 6 steals, but this Lakers still relied on the performance of Magic 22 points and 19 assists and Worthy's 28 points and 4 assists to drag the series into a tiebreaker.
The Magic once again contributed a big double-double of 19 points and 14 assists, but this time he was all stolen by Worthy, who completely broke out in the last game, hitting a big triple-double of 36 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists, and finally he successfully won the 1988 FMVP.
2007 Finals FMVP: Parker
Duncan averaged 18.3 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.3 steals and 2.3 blocks per game
Parker averaged 24.5 points, 5 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game
After two years, the Spurs are on the stage of the Finals again, compared to the last time they played against the Pistons, this year they obviously have an absolute advantage, in addition to the experience they are much richer than the Cavaliers, the team's roster strength is also much higher, after all, James was far from reaching his peak at that time. In this series, the Spurs completely suppressed James on defense, and once he couldn't play, the Cavaliers had no chance of winning.
James averaged just 22 points and 6.8 assists per game in four games, shooting a low 35.6 percent from the field and committing 5.8 turnovers. And the Spurs can defend James like this, Duncan as the team's defensive core, he is naturally the first hero, he can greatly limit James's best offensive frame when he stops in the restricted area, and his average of 18.3 points per game on the offensive end can also rank third in the series, and his average assists per game are second only to James.
However, in the end, the FMVP was awarded to Parker, who was better in his individual offense, and the Cavaliers really couldn't do anything about him in that series, Parker used his speed and skill to "toss and turn" on the court to score at will, and at the same time, in this round of defensive battles, he shot as high as 56.8% from the field, and even shot 57.1% from three-point range, which he was not very good at.
2015 Finals FMVP: Iguodala
Curry averaged 26 points, 5.2 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 1.8 steals per game
Iguodala averaged 16.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4 assists and 1.3 steals per game
The 2014-2015 season was a season that announced the Warriors' official rise, with a 67-15 record in the regular season and a 67-15 record in the league, and star Curry also managed to win his first MVP trophy. In the playoffs, Curry's performance was as good as ever, and in the finals against the Cavaliers, he had an average of 25+5+5 data per game, except for James, his data was the most luxurious, but in the end, Curry didn't even get an FMVP vote.
As the eventual winner, Iguodala was even a substitute until the G3 Warriors fell behind 1-2, and Kerr decided to "fight to the death" to put Iguodala in the starting five, using the defensive mobility of this lineup and speeding up the pace of the game to try to "consume" the Cavaliers. And Kerr's decision is really a good move, Iguodala was able to contribute 22 points, 8 rebounds and 4 three-pointers, 14 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals and 2 three-pointers, 25 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 3 three-pointers in the last three games.
Curry is undoubtedly still the most important player on the Warriors' side of the series, but the key turning point they can turn around is indeed Andre Iguodala's promotion.