Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images

56 years ago, ‘The Logo’ Jerry West made NBA Finals history with the Los Angeles Lakers no player has ever repeated

Originally posted on NBA Analysis Network
By Jonah Kubicek | Last updated Jun 23, 2025 5:30 PM ET

In 1969, Jerry West became the first and only player to lose the Finals and be named Finals MVP as his Los Angeles Lakers fell to the Boston Celtics in seven games.

On Sunday, the Oklahoma City Thunder won their first NBA title since they were known as the Seattle Supersonics, and to no surprise, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was named Finals MVP.

For the most part, fans know who wins the Finals MVP before it’s announced. Andre Iguodala in 2015 and Tony Parker in 2007 are recent exceptions, but the winner is generally predictable, with SGA being the betting favorite to win the award before the playoffs even started.

On May 5, 1969, 56 years ago, Jerry West shocked the world, being the first and only player to win Finals MVP despite playing for the losing team.

Jerry West dominated the NBA Finals

In the 1969 Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics, the Lakers jumped out to a 2-0 lead and led by 3-2, but were unable to finish the job.

West finished with 37.9 points and 7.4 assists, both the most in the series, although the Celtics, led by John Havlicek, Sam Jones, and Bill Russell, proved too much for the Lakers’ supporting cast of Elgin Baylor and Wilt Chamberlain.

The 1969 Finals were the first time a Finals MVP was given out, and, shockingly, it went to the losing player. As the Celtics celebrated their second title in a row and 11th overall, West was given the Finals MVP Award, which would later be named in honor of Russell, who has more rings (11) than anyone in league history.

West would end his career going 1-8 in the Finals, although his 30.5 points per game is the third-most in Finals history, behind only Rick Barry and Michael Jordan.

His 37.9 points per game in the 1969 showdown is the fifth-most of all time, although he wasn’t happy to win Finals MVP.

Jerry West had been in a similar situation before. In 1959, the West Virginia Mountaineers lost to the University of California in the NCAA championship. West scored 28 points in that game and was named the Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.

West wasn’t happy with his NBA honor

By the time he won Finals MVP in 1969, he had two such awards but no title to show for it.

West would finally topple the Celtics, winning the 1972 NBA Finals, although Chamberlain would be named MVP. Nearly 50 years after the fact, West is still bitter about his awards.

“I have two dubious honors that I would not recommend to anyone,” West said in a 2015 interview.

“I was the Most Valuable Player in the [NCAA] Finals where we got beat by one point by California, and I was the Most Valuable Player in a seven-game loss to the Celtics. I do not know of any other player who has that ‘honor,’ and these were not ‘honors.’”

Before Jordan and Kobe Bryant, West was known as one of the league’s greatest competitors, although his single ring, despite coming so close on multiple occasions, still stings.

This article first appeared on NBA Analysis Network and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: