NBA Finals MVP: Ranking the 10 Greatest Finals MVP's EVER

#5 Magic Johnson in the 1979-80 NBA Finals vs Philadelphia 76ers

Magic Johnson in the middle.

Finals Averages: 21.5 points, 11.5 rebounds, 8.4 assists, 2.7 steals, 0.3 blocks per game

Magic Johnson entered the NBA fresh off a victorious NCAA campaign with Michigan State, and promptly began to justify the Lakers' decision to select him with the first overall pick in the 1979 draft. The Lakers posted a regular season record of 60-22 on the strength of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's 6th MVP season, as well as the excellent play of Johnson, Jamaal Wilkes and Norm Nixon.

The Lakers breezed through the Western Conference playoffs with an 8-2 record against the Suns and the SuperSonics before going up against Julius Erving's 76ers team in the Finals. Both the teams were evenly matched through the first 5 games of the series, with the Lakers closing out game 4 on the strength of Magic Johnson's 28 points.

In game 5, which the Lakers lost by 5 points (108-103), they were debilitated by an ankle sprain to Kareem, who could play no more part in the series. The Lakers were in a fix, with no reliable player to field at the center position.

Magic took matters into his own hands and elected himself to play center in Game 6. The rest is history, as Johnson played possibly the greatest playoff game by any player (and certainly the greatest Finals game by a rookie) on the way to putting up a statline of 42 points, 15 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals and 1 block as the Lakers won comfortably by a margin of 16 points. Johnson was deservingly named the Finals MVP for his crucial role in the Lakers' series win. He is one of only 4 players to win NCAA and NBA championships in consecutive years.