Superstar forward LeBron James has been named the Most Valuable Player of the 2020 NBA Finals, as the Lakers clinched the 17th title in franchise history on Sunday night with a 106-93 win over Miami in Game 6.
It’s the fourth championship and the fourth Finals MVP Award for James, who previously earned the honor in 2012 and 2013 with the Heat, and again in 2016 with the Cavaliers.
Entering this series, James had been one of five players in NBA history to earn at least three Finals MVP awards. Now he’s one of just two players to earn that honor four or more times — Michael Jordan won the award six times. James is also the first player in NBA history to be named Finals MVP with three separate teams.
While Anthony Davis had a monster series for the Lakers, anchoring the defense and averaging 25.0 PPG, James led Los Angeles in points, rebounds and assists, making him the obvious choice for the MVP award.
In six games against the Heat, LeBron averaged 29.8 PPG, 11.8 RPG and 8.5 APG while shooting 59.1% from the floor and 41.7% from beyond the arc. The 35-year-old capped off an impressive playoff run with his 28th career postseason triple-double (28 points, 14 rebounds, 10 assists) on Sunday.
The Lakers’ title represents the first career championship for a number of notable veterans on the roster, including Davis, Dwight Howard, Jared Dudley and Markieff Morris. It’s also the first championship for veteran head coach Frank Vogel in his first year with the organization. Meanwhile, Danny Green is the only player on the Lakers to hold an active streak of two consecutive titles, having also won a year ago with the Raptors.
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