James a cert to be NBA Finals MVP regardless of Game 6 result
Published:
The NBA Finals could end with a Game 6 victory for the Golden State Warriors in Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena, or the Cavaliers could take the series to a deciding Game 7 back in Oakland. Either way, LeBron James should be handed the MVP trophy.
The Cavs’ only hope of prolonging their second-ever appearance in the Championship round has been a phenomenon through the first five games, averaging 36.6 points, 12.5 rebounds and 8.8 assists per contest.
Those numbers have never been seen before in an NBA Finals and should ensure that James picks up the series’ MVP gong for the third time in his career.
If the Cavaliers end up on the losing side of the battle, which appears most likely with Ladbrokes making the Warriors 1/20 favourites, then the destination of the most coveted individual trophy in the Finals shouldn’t be altered.
Only one man has received the MVP award while playing for the losing team. Jerry West, the first ever winner of the award, averaged 31.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 7.7 assists in defeat to the New York Knicks in the 1969/70 season, a Herculean effort surpassed easily by James’ numbers.
It can be of no surprise, then, that the former Miami Heat man is rated as an odd-on 5/6 chance to be crowned the best player of the series, odds that must be snapped up without haste.
That’s because either the series will be over with a Golden State win, which would anoint them as NBA champions for the first time since 1975, or James will have turned in yet another otherworldly performance to ensure his crew remain alive.
Should that happen then the current price will crash even further, so there really is no time like the present to back the man they call King to reign again.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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