James Becomes 5th Player to Win Finals MVP 3 or More Times

Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James was an obvious choice for MVP of the 2016 NBA Finals, and he became the fifth player in league history to win the award three or more times, per NBA.com/Stats.

Michael Jordan still comfortably holds the record with six Finals MVP awards, while James, Tim Duncan, Magic Johnson and Shaquille O'Neal each have three apiece.

Of course, the list would be longer if the award had been created before 1969, as the Boston Celtics won 11 championships in 13 years between 1957 and 1969.

Seemingly acknowledging this reality, the Finals MVP award was named after Bill Russell in 2009.

Interestingly enough, Los Angeles Lakers guard Jerry West won the first Finals MVP in 1969, even though his team lost to Russell's Celtics in seven games.

West remains the only player to win the award in a losing effort, though James would have had a decent case if his Cavs had fallen short in Sunday's Game 7.

Of course, with Cleveland ultimately pulling out a 93-89 victory, there was no question whatsoever regarding who would win the award.

James led all players in the series in points (208), rebounds (79), assists (62), steals (18) and blocks (16), making him the first player in Finals history to accomplish that feat, per NBA.com/Stats. 

James was previously named Finals MVP in 2012 and 2013 while playing for the Miami Heat.