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#4 Michael Jordan - 1992 NBA Finals MVP
Stats: 35.8 PPG | 6.5 APG | 4.8 RPG | 1.7 STL | 52% FG.
In his second trip to the NBA Finals, Michael Jordan led the Chicago Bulls to back-to-back championships against Clyde Drexler and the Portland Trail Blazers, in the process earning his second NBA Finals MVP award.
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The Finals was expected to be an enticing duel between Jordan and Drexler, but MJ quickly stamped his class, leaving Drexler, who had a decent series, trailing in Jordan's wake.
Jordan averaged close to 36 points per game in that six-game series while shooting 52% from the field. He scored 39 points in 34 minutes in the first game while making six 3s (then NBA record).
MJ made 35 points in the first half of that game and set an NBA Finals record while setting the series ablaze with his blistering performances.
#3 Shaquille O'Neal - 2001 NBA Finals MVP
Stats: 33.0 PPG | 4.8 APG | 15.8 RPG | 3.4 STL | 57% FG.
The reigning champions LA Lakers reached the 2001 NBA Finals with a perfect 11-0 record in the Western Conference, beating three 50-win teams in their first three rounds.
In the NBA Finals that year, Allen Iverson and the Philadelphia 76ers, looking to end the Lakers' historic run, took a shock game-one win courtesy Iverson's iconic performance. However, Shaquille O'Neal and the Lakers eventually proved to be too strong for the 76ers.
Shaq produced an incredible 33 points and almost 16 rebounds per game as the Lakers beat the 76ers in five games.
The 2002 NBA Finals were better for O'Neal from a statistical perspective. However, he averaged 33 points on 57% shooting against a four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year (Dikembe Mutombo), which was indeed a fabulous achievement.
In the process, O'Neil took home his second consecutive NBA Finals MVP award.
#2 Shaquille O'Neal - 2000 NBA Finals MVP
Stats: 38.0 PPG | 2.3 APG | 16.7 RPG | 2.7 STL | 61% FG.
We are not done yet with Shaquille O'Neal and his videogame-like numbers in the NBA Finals.
Shaq and Kobe Bryant made their LA Lakers breakthrough in the 2000 NBA Finals against the Reggie Miller-led Indiana Pacers. Miller's ring-less career is often attributed to the fact that the player played in the Michael Jordan era; however, the 2000 NBA Finals provided a different narrative in this regard.
O'Neal averaged the second-highest tally of points per game (38) in NBA Finals history. The big man also shot 61% from the field (not unusual from a legendary big man but definitely not so in the NBA Finals and with such dominance).
O'Neal had won the regular-season MVP award that season. He also took home the NBA Finals MVP honors after the Lakers beat the Indiana Pacers in six games.
#1 Michael Jordan - 1993 NBA Finals MVP
Stats: 41.0 PPG | 6.3 APG | 8.5 RPG | 1.7 STL | 50% FG | 40% 3P.
Michael Jordan is the all-time leader with six NBA Finals MVP awards in his career.
Among his six titles won with the Chicago Bulls, his performance in the 1993 NBA Finals triumph against the Phoenix Suns particularly stands out. That year, Michael Jordan became the first player to win three NBA Finals MVP awards in a row.
In sealing the first of the Bulls' two three-peats, Jordan had to find every ounce of energy and ability in his offensive game against the Charles Barkley-led Phoenix Suns, something he did with aplomb.
He averaged 41 points per game in the series and produced a career-high in the NBA Finals with his tally of 55 points in game four to put the series 3-1 in Chicago's favor.
His Airness scored 40 or more points in four games in that six-game series, with four of them coming on the trot between games two and five.
Jordan also averaged 33 shots per game, shooting with 50% efficiency. He also made 40% of his 25 attempts from the three in that series to deservedly earn the NBA Finals MVP recognition.
Michael Jordan's 1993 NBA Finals performance is arguably the greatest in competition history.
Also read: NBA Trade Rumors: Uncertainty looms over Kevin Love's future with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
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