Now, as the 2023-2024 season has officially come to an end, Jaylen Brown has successfully broken the doubts and been elected as the MVP of the Eastern Conference Finals and the MVP of the Finals in a row. And you must know that before the start of the playoffs, the outside world was full of all kinds of doubts about him, as the second leader of the first team in the league, he didn't even make the best three teams. This is the seventh time in the past 40 years that the NBA has been in such a situation that a player has won the FMVP after missing out on the All-NBA team, so let's take a look at who the other six players are, and by the way, review what kind of performance they played in the Finals to be able to reverse the wind and be elected FMVP.
6.Iguodala 2015
In the regular season, he averaged 7.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3 assists and 1.2 steals per game
In the finals, he averaged 16.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4 assists and 1.3 steals per game
In the 2014-2015 regular season, Iguodala played in 77 games with the Warriors, all of them as a substitute, and he was a top role player at the time, and no one could have imagined that he could become the turning point for the Warriors to win the championship. In the 2015 playoffs, Iguodala was still a substitute in the first 18 games, until he fell behind the Cavaliers 2-1 in the Finals, when Kerr chose to change his lineup and promoted him to the starting lineup.
After coming to the starter, Iguodala's performance also lived up to expectations, and he scored 22 points, 8 rebounds, 1 steal and 4 three-pointers, 14 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals and 2 three-pointers, and 25 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 3 three-pointers in the last three games. The most important thing is that Iguodala plays the starter, on the one hand, the defensive end can better limit James, on the other hand, the team can push the pace of the game by playing five hours, and in the end it turns out that Kerr's decision is correct, and Iguodala is also worthy of that year's FMVP.
5. Leonard 2014
In the regular season, he averaged 12.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2 assists and 1.7 steals per game
In the finals, he averaged 17.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.2 blocks per game
Leonard, who only entered the NBA in 2012, was only a third-year rookie at the time, and although the Spurs were optimistic about him, the regular season team still relied more on the GDP combination to play, and Leonard's task was still focused on the defensive end. As the playoffs began, Leonard began to expect even more, and considering that the GDP mix is no longer at its peak, the team will have to step up more if they want to win the championship.
In the Finals against the Heat, who had just beaten them the year before, the Spurs played a hearty game with a revenge mentality, and they basically pressed the Heat hammer for five games. Leonard also completed redemption in this series, and if he hadn't missed a crucial free throw the year before, the Spurs would have probably won the cup at the time. This time against the Heat, Leonard's performance on both ends of the offensive and defensive ends has improved significantly, and his three-point shooting percentage has reached 57.9%.
4. 2007 Tony Parker
In the regular season, he averaged 18.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.1 steals per game
In the finals, he averaged 24.5 points, 5 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game
Since winning the championship in 2003, Parker has been firmly at the core of the team's outside line, but at that time, on the one hand, Duncan was still at his peak, and there was also the problem of the Spurs' style of play, he couldn't play luxurious data in the regular season, so in the selection of the best team, he was more disadvantaged than other stars, but fortunately, Parker didn't care about this, he, like Ginobili and others, just wanted to help the Spurs win the championship.
In the 2007 Finals against the Cavaliers, Parker used his breakthrough to frequently tear through the opponent's defense in this round of defensive battles, and when the team's overall shooting rate was less than 45%, Parker was able to score 24.5 points with a shooting rate of nearly sixty percent, even the three points he was not very good at, he shot 57.1% in this series, and it was because of his explosion that the Spurs were able to sweep the Cavaliers cleanly.
3. Billups 2004
In the regular season, he averaged 16.9 points, 3.5 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.1 steals per game
In the finals, he averaged 21 points, 3.2 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.2 steals per game
After being drafted with the third overall pick in 1997, Billups struggled until 2002 when he arrived at a team that suited him. After joining the Pistons at that time, Billups's performance was visibly improved, but at that time, the Pistons still had Hamilton on the outside, and the Pistons still relied on defense to build the team, so Billups's data did not look very luxurious.
However, in the first three series of the 2004 playoffs, Billups did not play particularly well, averaging only 12.1 points per game against the Pacers in the Eastern Conference finals, and shooting a low 30.8% from the field. But in the Finals against the Lakers, the Pistons finally waited for Billups to break out, and he played the only series in the playoffs that year with an average of more than 20 points per game, and his consistent play on the offensive end at that time was undoubtedly the key to the Pistons being able to beat the Lakers.
2.1989 Jo Dumas
He averaged 17.2 points, 2.5 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game in the regular season
In the finals, he averaged 27.3 points, 1.8 rebounds and 6 assists per game
Dumas was drafted by the Pistons with the 18th pick in the first round in 1985, and in his rookie season, he averaged 9.4 points and 4.8 assists per game, playing commendably on both offensive and defensive ends, and has been a key target for the Pistons since then. In the 1988-1989 regular season, Dumas ushered in a significant improvement, his average points, rebounds, and assists per game all hit career highs, and although he was not selected to the All-Defensive Team, he and his teammate Rodman were selected for the All-Defensive Team with excellent defense.
In the Finals against the Lakers, Dumas became a "nightmare" for opponents, and Michael Cooper, the best defensive player, could do nothing against him, under the latter's defense, Dumas averaged a series-high 27.3 points per game while shooting 57.6% from the field. With Dumas on fire, the Lakers simply couldn't withstand the Pistons' offense, and in the end they were quickly swept by their opponents.
1. 1988 James Worthy
In the regular season, he averaged 19.7 points, 5 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1 steal per game
In the finals, he averaged 22 points, 7.4 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game
The 1987-1988 season was James Worthy's sixth season in the NBA, after he had been selected as a consecutive All-Star but never made to the All-NBA team. In the regular season this year, Worthy was still the Lakers' second scoring point, his average of 19.7 points per game was only second to Byron Scott's 21.7 points, and Worthy's assists per game also set a new career high.
The road to defending the Lakers in the playoffs is also quite thrilling, the Jazz and Mavericks have almost eliminated them, but fortunately, the Lakers still persevered to the end. In the finals against the Pistons, Worthy once again showed his "big heart" characteristics, when the team once fell behind the opponent 2-3, he scored 28 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal in the last two games, as well as a big triple-double of 36 points, 16 rebounds, 10 assists and 2 steals.