NBA Finals 2011: Dwyane Wade and the 10 Best NBA Finals Performers
Since the inception of the NBA Finals MVP award in 1969, few winners have had better NBA Finals performances than Dwyane Wade.
Wade finds himself in the NBA Finals again this year, and through Game 3, he has established himself as one of the premier performers in NBA Finals history. But where does Wade rank among the greatest NBA finals performers?
This list will only include players from the Post-Finals MVP era, meaning that players like Bill Russell will not appear on it despite winning 11 championships.
However, this era includes some of the greatest players of all time so a spot on the list is still a significant achievement.
That being said, here are my 10 best NBA Finals performers since 1969.
10. Willis Reed
1 of 10When Willis Reed came limping out of the tunnel for the start of Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers he cemented himself as one of the top NBA Finals performers of all time.
Reed, who had suffered a torn muscle in his right thigh in Game 5 of the series scored only four points in Game 7, but his presence on the court alone gave the Knicks the edge they needed to beat Wilt Chamberlain and the Lakers 113-99 in the final game of the series.
Reed was named the Finals MVP that year averaging 23 points per game, 10.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists in the series.
In the 1973 NBA Finals, Reed added another Finals MVP averaging 16.4 points, 9.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists as the Knicks made quick work of the Lakers in five games.
Willis Reed, however, will forever be remembered for his toughness and desire which was displayed in that Game 7 victory in the 1970 NBA Finals.
9. Dwyane Wade
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Dwyane Wade has great potential to move up on this list after the conclusion of the 2011 NBA Finals.
Wade is the only player on this list with only one NBA Finals MVP, but with the way he has played in the first three games of the Finals, it looks like if the Heat should win the series that Wade will win yet another Finals MVP.
In the series, Wade is averaging 29 points, almost nine rebounds, five assists, almost two blocks and nearly two steals. More impressive than Wade's numbers though is the way he has taken over games despite being on the floor with the league's best regular season player, LeBron James, and Chris Bosh.
In the 2006 Finals against the Mavericks, Wade averaged 34.7 points (third-highest average in NBA history) and led the Heat to an NBA championship after being down 2-0 in the series. From Game 3 to Game 5, Wade scored 42, 36 and 43 points.
8. Hakeem Olajuwon
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Nobody capitalized on Michael Jordan's retirement from basketball in 1994 like Hakeem Olajuwon.
After three straight years watching Jordan's Bulls win the NBA Finals, Olajuwon wasted no time as he lead the Houston Rockets to two straight NBA Finals, winning Finals MVP both years.
"The Dream" averaged 26.9 points per game, nine rebounds and four blocks in the 1994 series.
He followed that performance the next year by setting three NBA Finals four-game records including: points (131), field goals made (56) and field goals attempted (116).
7. Kobe Bryant
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After Shaquille O'Neal left Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant was criticized for never winning a championship "on his own." O'Neal had been the Finals MVP all three years between 2000 and 2002 and most considered Bryant the second option at best.
But after the 2009 and 2010 NBA championships that Bryant lead the Lakers to without O'Neal, he has solidified his place in this list.
In his last two championship wins, Bryant was named the NBA Finals MVP twice, making him one of only four players to have won the award back-to-back years. He was deserving of the award too. Bryant averaged 32.4 points and 7.4 assists in the 2009 Finals and almost 29 points in 2010.
6. Larry Bird
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In 1986, the Celtics defeated the Houston Rockets in six games to win the NBA championship, and they did it on the shoulders of Larry Bird.
Bird, who was named MVP of the series, nearly averaged a triple-double with 24 points, 9.7 rebounds and 9.5 assists.
This was the second NBA Finals MVP Bird was awarded. In 1984, Bird won his first Finals MVP award in one of the many seven-game battles with the Los Angeles Lakers. In this series, Bird was very much the difference maker averaging over 27 points per game, collecting 14 rebounds and averaging over two steals.
5. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had one of the most illustrious careers in NBA history.
The superstar appeared in 10 NBA Finals which is good enough for second-most all time.
Abdul-Jabbar ended his career with five championships (out of the 10 he played in), including two NBA Finals MVP's. What is unique about his MVP's, however, is that they were won 14 years apart and with two different teams.
Abdul-Jabbar won the 1971 NBA Finals MVP as a member of the Milwaukee Bucks and then won the award again in 1985 as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers.
On both teams Abdul-Jabbar was a centerpiece averaging 27.7 points per game and 18.5 rebounds as a member of the Bucks as well as 25.7 points, 10 rebounds and five assists as a member of the "Showtime" Lakers.
4. Tim Duncan
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No one has ever been as dominant as Tim Duncan for so many years in the Finals and done it so quietly.
Duncan is one of only four players to have won the NBA Finals MVP award three times (winning it in 1999, 2003 and 2005).
Just how dominant was Duncan in the Finals?
In Game 6 of the 2003 NBA Finals series against the New Jersey Nets, Duncan nearly achieved a quadruple-double scoring 21 points, getting 20 rebounds, dishing out 10 assists and blocking eight shots as the Spurs closed out the nets to win the championship.
In the three years Duncan was awarded NBA Finals MVP, he averaged 23.9 points per game and 15 rebounds leading his team to finals victories over the Knicks, Nets and Pistons.
3. Magic Johnson
8 of 10Every once in a while, a single play or game can define an entire players career. Magic Johnson had two, and both were in the NBA Finals.
In the 1980 championship series, the Lakers were up three games to two heading back to Philadelphia, with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the league's MVP, out with a severe ankle injury.
Needing a starting center, the Lakers sent 6'9" point guard, Magic Johnson, to fill the position, and in one of the best games of his career, Johnson scored a game-high 42 points and a game-high 15 rebounds to seal the championship and the series MVP.
Again, in the 1987 Finals, Johnson stole the show with his infamous hook shot shown in the video.
Johnson was awarded the Finals MVP award a total of three times.
2. Shaquille O'Neal
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Shaquille O'Neal is one of only two players to ever win the NBA Finals MVP three years in a row.
From 2000-2002, no one was more dominant in the playoffs and especially in the finals than O'Neal. During those three years, he averaged an impossible 35.8 points per game, 14.9 rebounds and three blocks.
In Game 2 of the 2001 NBA Finals, O'Neal put up 28 points, 20 rebounds, nine assists and blocked a record-tying eight shots on route to defeating the Philadelphia 76ers in five games.
1. Michael Jordan
10 of 10The player who finds himself at the top of most basketball related lists sits at the top of yet another.
Michael Jordan is the most dominant player in NBA Finals History, but just in case there is any doubt, here's his resume.
-Six NBA Finals MVP's in six NBA Finals (double the next most)
-Five NBA Finals Series averaging over 31 points (average of 33.5 points per game over six NBA Finals)
-An average of 41 points per game in the 1993 NBA Finals (an NBA record)
-A game in which Jordan scored 38 points and got seven rebounds while playing with the flu
While there have been many great players in the NBA's history, nobody has performed quite like Jordan did in the NBA Finals.
