Robb: Win Or Lose, LeBron James Is Likely The NBA Finals MVP
BOSTON – No player from a losing team has won the NBA Finals MVP award since the Lakers' Jerry West in the 1969 Finals. Forty-seven years later, LeBron James has a great chance of defying history and joining West in earning that distinct honor in a losing performances if his Cleveland Cavaliers fall to the Golden State Warriors in Game 7 on Sunday night.
Win or lose, James is highly favored to earn the Finals MVP award by Las Vegas sports books. Bovada has him as -260 favorite to take the crown after willing the Cavs back from a 3-1 series deficit over the past two games. Through six contests, he's put together one of the best performances in NBA Finals history, leading both teams in nearly every statistical category, including points (30.2) rebounds (11.3), assists (8.5), steals (2.7) and blocks (2.2), and minutes (40.9) per game.
Barring a complete egg of a performance in Game 7 by James or an otherworldly effort by Stephen Curry or Klay Thompson, it's hard to imagine MVP voters denying James the award, even in a losing effort. Draymond Green is another a candidate for the Warriors based on his numbers, but a Game 5 suspension has likely eliminated him from serious consideration.
While the odds are squarely in favor of James taking home the MVP award, the Warriors are still the favorites to win Game 7 at Oracle Arena. No team has ever come back from a 3-1 series deficit in the NBA Finals in league history and that quest becomes even tougher for LeBron and co. when finishing the job on the road.
Home teams are 15-3 all-time in Game 7s of the finals and no road team has pulled off a win since the 1978 Washington Bullets with all the chips on the table. The domination of home teams in Game 7s is not just isolated to the NBA Finals either, as hosts are 101-24 all-time Game 7s in the postseason.
While the Cavs will surely benefit from the absence of Andrew Bogut and the back spasms of Andre Iguodala, those historical numbers are a good indicator of how much of an upward climb the Cavs face in Oracle Arena tonight. The Warriors are a team that only lost two games at home during the entire regular season and that total has been matched already in the postseason.
If the Cavs pull off the upset, there's no question that James will take home the MVP crown. If not though, it's hard to imagine that the voters will find a way to take it away from him with the historic display he's already delivered.
Brian Robb covers the Celtics for CBS Boston and contributes to NBA.com, among other media outlets. You can follow him on Twitter @CelticsHub.
