For the fourth time in his illustrious NBA career, LeBron James is the NBA Finals MVP. James and the Los Angeles Lakers capped off a 4-2 series win over the Miami Heat on Sunday evening, wrapping up the 2020 Finals in style with an emphatic, 106-93 victory that brought the Lakers their 17th title in league history.
In one of the most prolific games of his Finals career, the soon-to-be 36-year-old James exploded in Game 6, going for his 28th NBA Finals triple-double, second only to the 30 put up by Magic Johnson. In his record-setting 260th playoff game, James scored 28 points on 13-for-20 shooting while reeling in 14 rebounds and doling out 10 assists. For the series, James was a menace, averaging 29.8 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 8.5 assists while connecting on 58.6 percent of his shots from the field and 39 percent of his threes.
After winning the award, James spoke to Rachel Nichols of ESPN, emphatically saying that he wants respect for what the franchise accomplished this season.
“And I want my damn respect too.”@KingJames on winning the 2019-20 Finals MVP. #NBAFinals pic.twitter.com/tsin7CdEqh
— NBA TV (@NBATV) October 12, 2020
James is a deserving winner of the award, which was viewed as a two-man race between himself and his teammate, Anthony Davis, who was magnificent on both ends of the floor during the series. But ultimately, James got to add this packed trophy case. Only Michael Jordan, who won six Finals MVPs during his career, has more. James is also the first player to win three Finals MVPs for three different teams, and did so unanimously this year.
