NBA Finals Player Ratings: James wins even though his team don’t

The NBA Championship is heading to Golden State for the first time since 1975, after the Warriors won Game 6 of the Finals to kick start their celebrations.

Ladbrokes already make them the 9/2 second favourites to claim next season’s prize, behind their beaten opponents the Cleveland Cavaliers, and if they perform anywhere close to their standards this term that will be a heck of a price.

Here’s how each team’s top-five players rated over the series:

Golden State Warriors

Andre Iguodala – 9/10

Helped flipped the series on its head when coming into the starting lineup for Game 4, but generally shone no matter his role.

The Warriors outscored the Cavaliers by 62 points when the newly-crowned Finals MVP was on the floor, which says everything about his impact on the battle considering he was also guarding LeBron James.

Steph Curry – 8/10

The usually reliable shooting stroke of the Warriors’ leader failed him for a couple of games in the series, but Curry stepped up when it mattered and led his team with averages of 26.0 points and 6.3 assists per game.

Draymond Green – 7/10

The defensive monster registered a triple-double of 16 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds in the title-clinching Game 6, becoming the first man not named LeBron James to register such an accolade in the Finals since 2010.

Klay Thompson – 6/10

Became a more blunted offensive weapon as the Finals wore on and only scored five points in Game 6 but managed to drain enough of his trade-mark three-pointers early in the series for his reputation to remain intact.

Harrison Barnes – 6/10

Struggled with his shot throughout and went through Game 3 without scoring a single point, however was able to affect the series more once Iguodala came in to the starting lineup and relieved him from regularly guarding James.

Cleveland Cavaliers

LeBron James -10/10

His efforts this series, in which he bettered the numbers put up by Jerry West, the only player to win the Finals MVP in a losing cause, were astounding.

Every last drop of James’ energy went into trying to win his hometown side a first ever title, so reports of him facing his locker, towel over his head, for an hour after Game 6 are understandable.

Tristan Thompson – 9/10

The power forward was a demon on the boards, claiming 78 rebounds in total over the course of the Finals, just two less than James, but excelled in cleaning the offensive glass with 32 of his total grabs coming off of teammate misses.

Timofey Mozgov – 7/10

His huge game four of 28 points and 10 boards came in a losing effort but the undrafted Russian was generally the most reliable source of offensive support for LeBron.

Matthew Dellavedova – 6/10

His 20-point display in the Game 3 victory earned him cult status among basketball fans, but ultimately hindered his ability to affect the rest of the series after receiving hospital treatment in the aftermath.

J.R. Smith – 3/10

Brought in via a trade in mid-season to provide a scoring punch off the bench, Smith managed it through the second half of the campaign and in the early playoffs but went missing in Finals, shooting just 31.20 percent.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

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