When did the NBA start awarding Finals MVP?

The NBA Finals MVP award began in 1969, with Jerry West of the Los Angeles Lakers becoming the first winner.

How is the NBA Finals MVP decided?

The Finals MVP is voted by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters after the series, based on overall impact and performance.

Has a player from the losing team ever won Finals MVP?

Yes, Jerry West in 1969 is the only player to win Finals MVP while on the losing team.

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The Cornerstone of the Bucks: A Decade as Milwaukee’s Core

FMVP Club

NBA

12 views06/20/2026, 12:27 ET

Since 2013, Giannis has been Milwaukee’s untouchable soul — lifting a lottery team to contention and delivering the 2021 title.

Since entering the league in 2013, Giannis Antetokounmpo has given almost his entire prime to the Milwaukee Bucks. From a team drifting around the playoff fringe to the 2021 champions, Giannis was the irreplaceable cornerstone and soul.

Early Bucks were unremarkable — Giannis averaged just 6.8 points as a rookie, and the team rarely made the playoffs. As he evolved, Milwaukee rebuilt around him: Khris Middleton as the steady No. 2, then Eric Bledsoe, Brook Lopez and others, and in 2018 Mike Budenholzer as coach, building a Giannis-centric system. The 2018-19 Bucks won 60 games and joined the contenders.

Giannis means more than numbers. He is the locker-room leader, the civic face and the symbol of the front office's "untouchable." In the 2020 offseason he signed a supermax extension early, telling Milwaukee "I want to win here" — a loyalty rare in today's player-movement era.

The 2021 title was the payoff for that loyalty. When the Bucks beat the Suns, Giannis kneeling in tears moved millions. For a small-market city, an international player giving a decade of youth for its first title in 50 years is the most moving basketball story. Giannis is synonymous with the Bucks dynasty.