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NBA Finals Facts and Figures: Los Angeles Lakers Edition

By Jamaal Artis

LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 06: Fans gather outside of Staples Center before Game Two of the 2010 NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers on June 6, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 06: Fans gather outside of Staples Center before Game Two of the 2010 NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers on June 6, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers
(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers /

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MVP…MVP…MVP… 

The Bill Russell Award has been given to the Most Valuable Player of the NBA Finals every year since 1969. With their long history of postseason success, it’s not surprising that the Los Angeles Lakers have had the most players awarded Finals MVP.

Seven Lakers have won the Finals MVP:

  • Jerry West (1969 only player to win and lose the series)
  • Wilt Chamberlain (1972)

    • Magic Johnson (1980, 1982, 1987)

  • Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1985)
  • James Worthy (1988)
  • Shaquille O’Neal (2000, 2001, 2002)

    • Kobe Bryant (2009, 2010)

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    The Records:

    Lakers players are all over the record books when it comes to the NBA Finals. Magic Johnson holds career records for assists, steal, and unfortunately turnovers. He also has the assist record for both a game and series both in 1984.

    Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Elgin Baylor, Jerry West and Magic are all in the top ten for career scoring in the NBA Finals. Baylor holds the record for most points in a NBA Finals game with 61 points scored in game five in the old Boston Garden.

    Triple-Double:

    With as many skilled hall of famers who can score, rebound, and pass the ball it’s not surprising that many Lakers have pulled off the triple double in an NBA Finals. Until last year the most triple doubles in and NBA Finals career belonged to Magic Johnson with eight, Lebron James passed him with his ninth in game 4 of the 2017 Finals.

    Jerry West had a triple double (42/13/12) in a game seven loss against the Boston Celtics in the 1969 Finals where he won Finals MVP, 19 years later in 1988 James Worthy got his only triple double (36/16/10) of his career in a game seven win against the Detroit Pistons propelling Worthy to the Finals MVP.

    Shaquille O’Neal almost had the only quadruple double in NBA Finals history in game two of the 2001 NBA Finals. O’Neal had a monster game scoring 28 points, getting 20 rebounds, passing for 9 assists, and tying a then NBA Finals record with 8 blocks.

    Game Seven:

    The Lakers have made it to the last game of the NBA season nine times in their history, game seven has not always been kind to the Lakers. In those nine games, they’ve gone 4-5, many losses were in heart breaking fashion and usually to the Boston Celtics.

    The Lakers won their first two game sevens(1952, 1954) while playing in Minneapolis then lost five straight game sevens. The worst loss being in 1962, the Lakers had the ball with five seconds left in a tie ball game when Frank Selvy went up for the game winning shot that went down and then out as time expired. The Lakers would lose in overtime 110-107.

    In 2010 after losing to the Celtics in 2008 the Lakers were getting a chance at redemption and had to beat the Celtics on their home floor in a game seven. The Lakers had never beaten the Celtics in a game seven up to that point going 0-4.

    Next: The perfect way to trade up for Luka Doncic

    Thanks to a second half comeback where they erased a 13 point deficit the Lakers won 83-79 in a gritty contest to redeem all those Lakers players who walked off the court losers to the Celtics in a game seven.

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