LeBron James is down three games to none in the NBA Finals after losing at home in Game 3. The fourth game is tonight in Cleveland and if the Golden State Warriors win that game, they will have swept the Cleveland Cavaliers and will end LeBron's season with a very discouraging series. It also might end up as the final season that James plays in Cleveland. But there are some people who think that, despite the Cavs being down three games, LeBron is the best player in the series based on individual performance. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, a reporter asked Kevin Durant what would happen if the Warriors won the series but LeBron won the NBA Finals MVP award.
Durant on LeBron
Kevin Durant won the NBA Finals MVP award last year when the Golden State Warriors beat the Cleveland Cavaliers for the championship. This year, don't expect LeBron James to win the title if the Cavs lose, though, as it has not happened since the NBA Finals MVP was created in 1969. In that season, the Boston Celtics beat the Los Angeles Lakers in seven games, but the MVP went to Jerry West of the Lakers.
Durant does not think that James would even accept the NBA Finals MVP award if his team lost the series. According to Durant, LeBron is a winner and won't accept the MVP award if his team loses. Since that has not happened since 1969, it is likely just something Cleveland Cavaliers fans will want to talk about if the Golden State Warriors end the series tonight.
LeBron's performance
Why did Jerry West win the NBA Finals MVP award in 1969? In the series, West averaged 38 points a game for the Los Angeles Lakers. He scored 53 points in the Game 1 win and 41 points in the second game. In the Game 7 two-point loss, West had a triple-double (42 pts, 13 rebounds, 12 assists) and did everything he could to help his Lakers win.
In the three losses to the Golden State Warriors in the 2018 NBA Finals, LeBron James has averaged 37 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists a game, three total rebounds away from a triple-double for the series. Cleveland lost Game 1 in overtime due to a mistake by J.R. Smith, were blown out in Game 2 and struggled in the second half of Game 3.
LeBron James has been to the NBA Finals nine times in his career, and the last eight straight. He won the NBA Finals MVP in 2012, 2013 and 2016. If he can pull off a miracle and lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to four consecutive wins to take the championship, he will win the fourth one. Otherwise, it is just speculation.
