NBA Refutes Claim LeBron James, Andre Iguodala Tied in 2015 Finals MVP Voting

Adam Wells @adamwells1985Featured ColumnistJune 4, 2019

CLEVELAND, OH - JUNE 16: Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors and Andre Iguodala #9 pose with the NBA Trophy and MVP Trophy after winning game Six against the Cleveland Cavaliers at the Quicken Loans Arena During Game Six of the 2015 NBA Finals on June 16, 2015 in Cleveland,Ohio NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2015 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)

Jesse D. Garrabrant/Getty Images

The NBA is disputing a claim made by Nick Wright on FS1's First Things First that LeBron James and Andre Iguodala tied for MVP of the 2015 NBA Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors.

Wright said Tuesday that members of the media got together to give Iguodala three votes that originally went to Stephen Curry to break a 4-4 tie between Iguodala and James for the award.

Tim Frank, NBA senior vice president of basketball communications, said on Twitter nothing of the sort ever happened:

Tim Frank @tfrank14
This absolutely never happened. No media member, including any voter, was privy to those results until they were announced on the court. The results were as we announced – Iguodala 7, James 4. Also, players from both teams are always eligible to win the Finals MVP https://t.co/EpTJererej

Iguodala's MVP has been an ongoing topic of conversation for four years. Draymond Green credited him with saving the series for the Warriors after head coach Steve Kerr inserted him into the starting lineup before Game 4 with the team trailing 2-1.

Rachel Nichols @Rachel__Nichols
Here are the voting results for Finals MVP. Iggy with 7 votes; LeBron with 4. http://t.co/XsgYAqsiAR

James essentially single-handedly carried Cleveland in the series after Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving went down with injuries. He averaged 35.8 points, 13.3 rebounds and 8.8 assists in the six games, though he shot just 39.8 percent, with Iguodala as his primary defender.

Defense was among the reasons Iguodala was considered the Warriors' most important player in the series, ahead of Curry. He was a solid offensive contributor with 16.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game and shot 52.1 percent overall.

Curry, who has yet to win a Finals MVP in his career, would have been a worthy recipient of the award. He led the Warriors with 26.0 points and 6.3 assists in six games.

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Regardless of the conspiracy theories about what may or may not have happened with the voting, Iguodala still has the hardware.