5 times when a player from the losing team should have won the NBA Finals MVP award

#3 Julius Erving - 1977 NBA Finals

'The Doc'

The 1977 NBA Finals were all about the Portland Trail Blazers and Bill Walton, and rightfully so. However, Julius Erving definitely had a case to be awarded the Finals MVP award, even if his Philadelphia 76ers team had fallen in six games after squandering a 2-0 series lead.

Walton took home the NBA Finals MVP award that year, after averaging 18.5 points, 19 rebounds and five assists in the series. Maurice Lucas, though, led the Blazers in scoring and also averaged 10.7 rebounds per game. Of course, Walton was the driving force for the Trail Blazers.

At the other end, Dr. J put up 30.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, five assists and 2.7 steals per game for the Philadelphia 76ers in his debut NBA season. Erving did not have a bad game in the 1977 NBA Finals. He put up stunning efforts in the final two games of the series, registering 37 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in Game 5 and 40/6/8 in Game 6.

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#2 LeBron James - 2017 NBA Finals

LeBron James during the 2017 NBA Finals

LeBron James made a compelling case about the Finals MVP winner coming from the losing team after his stellar exploits in the 2015 NBA Finals series. That year, 'The King' played on the NBA's biggest stage without his two star teammates, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving, both of home sutained injuries during the postseason.

Nevertheless, James put up a great effort in the series, averaging 35.8 points, 13.3 rebounds and 8.8 assists per game. However, he was not as efficient as he normally is, shooting only 39% from the field (although he had to take lots of shots each game). James took 196 shots in the series, the highest he has taken in any series during his legendary postseason career.

James had a better chance to win the Finals MVP award in a losing cause in 2017 when his Cleveland Cavaliers team faced the Golden State Warriors, who had Kevin Durant. But the Warriors turned out to be too hot to handle for James and the Cavaliers, with the eventual champions going 16-1 throughout the postseason, dropping their only game in the playoffs in Game 4 of the Finals series.

James put up 33.6 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists per game to become the first player in NBA Finals history to average a triple-double. He also put up shooting splits of 56/38/64. Kevin Durant, meanwhile, won the 2017 Finals MVP award after putting up averages of 35/8/5, but he was surrounded by a two-time MVP and two other All-NBA players too.

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#1 LeBron James - 2018 NBA Finals

'The King' during the 2018 NBA Finals

The 2018 NBA Finals panned out similar to the 2017 series between the KD-led Golden State Warriors and LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers. However, James' supporting cast wore a different look in 2018, as Kyrie Irving was no longer a Cavs player, and the team was essentially built during the trade deadline.

James inspired the Cavs to the NBA Finals with a stunning performance against their Eastern Conference rivals. However, despite 'The King' averaging 34 points, 8.5 rebounds and ten assists in the Finals series, the Golden State Warriors swept the Cavaliers to win the title, with Durant winning the Finals MVP award once again.

Kevin Love was impressive for the Cavs in the series, averaging 19 points and 11 rebounds per game. But he was the only other Cleveland player to average over ten points a night.