Luka Doncic, and Jaylen Brown Seek Consecutive MVP Trophies After Leading Their Teams to NBA Finals
Luka Doncic was named Western Conference Finals MVP last night after the Dallas Mavericks finished the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games, winning Game Five 124-103. This comes just days after Eastern Conference Finals MVP Jaylen Brown led the Celtics to a sweep of the Indiana Pacers. Doncic joins Steph Curry and Nikola Jokic as the third all-time winner of the Western Conference Finals trophy. Brown joins teammate Jayson Tatum, and Jimmy Butler as winners of the Eastern Conference trophy. The two teams have a long time off before game one of the NBA Finals on Thursday, June 6th.
Luka Doncic averaged 31.5 points, nine and a half rebounds, and nine assists in the Western Conference Finals, earning all but nine MVP votes. In the regular season, Doncic finished third in the MVP voting, so it is no surprise he is the primary reason the Mavericks reached the Finals. In the regular season, the Slovenian star nearly averaged a triple-double with 33.9 points, 9.8 assists, and 9.2 rebounds a game. Doncic also made numerous clutch shots in the series, including a game-winner over Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert in Game Two.
Jaylen Brown is typically second fiddle to Jayson Tatum for the Celtics, but in this series, he also made clutch plays with a game-tying shot in Game One, and a clutch stretch in Game Four to close out the series. Brown averaged 29.8 points, five rebounds, and three assists, narrowly earning him the MVP trophy over Tatum by five votes to four. Tatum would have been a deserving winner in what would have been his second Eastern Conference MVP trophy. He averaged 30.3 points, 10.3 rebounds, and six assists, leading the Celtics in all three categories. Tatum had better overall stats than Brown, but Brown was more efficient and made more key plays, giving him the one-vote edge.
Heading into the finals, both teams should get plenty of rest and be relatively healthy as long as Kristaps Porzingis, who injured his calf against the Miami Heat in round one, returns from injury. The fight for Finals MVP will be interesting, as there seem to be four worthy candidates of Luka Doncic, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and Kyrie Irving. Expectations are Tatum would earn Finals MVP if the Celtics won, and Doncic would earn Finals MVP if the Mavs won. According to DraftKings betting odds, Tatum has the best chance to win Finals MVP at -105, followed by Doncic at +230, Brown at +500, and Irving at +2000. Revenge could also play a role in this finals series, as Irving will be playing his old team which he left on bad terms, and Porzingis is also playing his former team which he left on not the best terms. There’s also always a chance a role player wins the award, as Andre Iguodala won back in 2015. Candidates in that mold would include Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, Al Horford, P.J. Washington, Dereck Lively, and Daniel Gafford. No matter who wins Finals MVP, it will be a fun series to watch between young stars and savvy veterans, most looking to win their first championship ring.
