Inthe1985Finals,KareemAbdul-Jabbardefineddominantperformanceinhisownway.Thedeep-
ManyrememberKareemAbdul-Jabbarastheclutchkillerwhotookoverinkeymoments,yettheyov
Behindthe1988titlelaytherealityJamesWorthyboiledoutofyearsofobsessionandeffort.I
Inthe1988NBAFinals,theLosAngelesLakersdefeatedtheDetroitPistonsfourgamestothree,
Inthe1985NBAFinals,theLosAngelesLakersdefeatedtheBostonCelticsfourgamestotwo,and
PlacedonJamesWorthy'scareertimeline,1988wasapivotalhinge,botharewardforalongjour
Thefullnameoftheregular-seasonMVPis"MostValuablePlayer."Jameswrotethosewordsinto
PeoplelovetotellthestoryofO'Neal's2000MVPasa"triumphoftalent,"asifthat310-poundf
ShaquilleO'Nealwononlyoneregular-seasonMVPinhiscareer(2000),afactoftenmisreadinl
Thephrase"MostValuablePlayer,"placedbesideWiltChamberlain,wasneverjustatrophy.He
WhenLeBronJamesliftedtheregular-seasonMVPtrophyin2009andagainin2010,Clevelandrej
Atrueidolisrarelymanufactured;moreoften,heissummonedbyakindofscarcity.Before1979