"It was meaningless for me, regardless of how I played" - Why Jerry West disliked his Finals MVP award from the 1969 Finals
jerry-west
Jerry West has the unique distinction of being the only player to win a Finals MVP while playing for the losing team. He won the award after the 1969 Finals when the Los Angeles Lakers lost to the ever-dominant Boston Celtics.
It was the first time the award was handed out, so there was no precedent for it to be necessarily handed to the winning team. However, it was harrowing for Jerry to receive it since he felt undeserving as part of the losing side.
“I was the Most Valuable Player in the NBA Finals on the losing team when we got beaten by one point in California. That was the MVP in a seven-game loss in the series against the Celtics. I don’t know of any player who’s ever had that honor and it’s not an honor,” West said on In Depth with Graham Bensinger in 2015. “How stupid it was that I received that and was not part of the winning team. It didn’t seem right, it was meaningless for me, regardless of how I played.”
The Finals MVP felt patronizing for West
Anyone who sees the stats from the 1969 Finals would see why Jerry received the award and why Bill Russell kept praising him. He was the best player in the Finals after averaging 37.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 7.5 assists per game. Elgin Baylor was the closest Laker, averaging 18 points and 10.3 rebounds per game.
On the Celtics’ side, John Havlicek stood out with averages of 28.3 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game. Hondo deserved the award since he was the primary reason why Boston won the championship over their rivals.
However, the award was handed to West because of his absurd performance in all seven games. Unfortunately, it became a consolation prize for Jerry because he still lost the championship. Since he won the first-ever Finals MVP award, no player from the losing team has won the award. LeBron James was close to winning it in 2015, but it went to Andre Iguodala from the Golden State Warriors.
West still deserves the praise
While Jerry does not feel he deserved the Finals MVP award, he did earn it on the court. He was absurd in that seven-game series, as he was far and away the best player on the floor every game. However, the Finals did not go their way, as the Lakers lost to the Celtics for the sixth time in the 1960s.
To this day, Jerry has the unique distinction of being the only player to achieve that unique feat. It might have felt bad, but being the sole name to deviate from the usual model is a remarkable achievement for the late Mr. West.