Ranking the 10 greatest NBA Finals MVP performances in league history

#8 Larry Bird - 1986 NBA Finals MVP

Stats: 24.0 PPG | 9.5 APG | 9.7 RPG | 2.7 STL | 48% FG.

Larry Legend

In 1986, Larry Bird won his third and last NBA championship after an amazing season with the Boston Celtics. He also won his second NBA Finals MVP award that year.

Bird had won his first NBA Finals MVP award in 1984; he also won regular-season MVP awards in 1984, 1985, and 1986.

2nd Finals MVP in 3 years, 3rd time crowned championsLarry Bird cemented his legacy on this day in 1986 when the Celtics won it all for the 16th time pic.twitter.com/EXEPF4Vrlx

— Bleacher Report NBA (@BR_NBA) June 8, 2019

In the 1986 NBA Finals against the Houston Rockets, Bird showed his prowess of doing virtually anything on a basketball court. He almost averaged a triple-double in that six-game series, scoring 48/37/94 shooting splits.

Bird had two triple-doubles in the series to secure his second NBA Finals MVP award.

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#7 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - 1971 NBA Finals MVP

Stats: 27.0 PPG | 2.8 APG | 18.5 RPG | 60% FG.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (left) and Oscar Robertson (right)

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar arrived in the NBA after arguably the greatest high-school and college playing career in history.

In just his second season in the competition, Jabbar guided the Milwaukee Bucks to the NBA championship. In the process, he won his first regular-season MVP award and also earned the NBA Finals MVP award for the first time in his career.

After averaging 31.7 points and 16 rebounds per game in the regular season, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar put up 27 and 18 in the NBA Finals to sweep the Baltimore Bullets and earn the first of his two NBA Finals MVP awards.

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#6 Hakeem Olajuwon - 1995 NBA Finals MVP

Stats: 32.8 PPG | 5.5 APG | 11.5 RPG | 2.0 STL | 2.0 BLK | 48% FG.

Hakeem Olajuwon (left) and Shaquille O'Neal (right) in the 1995 NBA Finals

Fresh off winning his first NBA championship with the Houston Rockets in his second appearance in the NBA Finals, Hakeem Olajuwon followed up his 1994 heroics for Houston with an impressive performance in the 1995 NBA Playoffs to take the sixth-seeded Rockets all the way yet again.

The Rockets successfully negotiated their way through the Western Conference in the NBA Playoffs that year, courtesy Olajuwon's solid contribution of 33 points and ten rebounds per game through the first three rounds, where he faced three teams who had won at least 59 games in the regular season.

In the 1995 NBA Finals, the Dream's stunning 32-10-5 performance helped Houston sweep the Shaquille O'Neal-led Orlando Magic; Olajuwon, in the process, won his second consecutive NBA Finals MVP award.

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#5 LeBron James - 2016 NBA Finals MVP

Stats: 29.7 PPG | 8.9 APG | 11.3 RPG | 2.6 STL |2.3 BLK | 49% FG.

2016 NBA Finals - Game Seven

LeBron James led the Cleveland Cavaliers to their first-ever NBA championship in 2016 after helping them overcome a 3-1 deficit against the 73-9 Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals that year.

LeBron James is the unanimous 2016 NBA Finals MVP. pic.twitter.com/L4XDDXYlaT

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 20, 2016

The King starred for the Cavaliers with unbelievable consistency at both ends of the floor, leading every major stat category throughout the seven-game series; he achieved a triple-double in the deciding game.

In the process, James won the NBA Finals MVP award for the third time in his career to become the second player (after Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) to win the coveted award with two different franchises. Kawhi Leonard later joined the duo in 2019.