The best champions to never win NBA Finals MVP

23 April 2013: Boston Celtics center Kevin Garnett (5) during game two of the first round of the NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs at Madison Square Garden in New York City, NY The Knicks defeated the Celtics 87-71 to lead the series 2-0. (Photo by Rich Kane/Icon SMI/Corbis via Getty Images) /

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BOSTON – 1968: Bill Russell #6 of the Boston Celtics defends during a game played in 1968 at the Boston Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 1968 NBAE (Photo by Dick Raphael/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Bill Russell

Despite the Finals MVP being named after Russell, he never won a Finals MVP himself, but only because the award was not given until the last of his championship runs. That season, though, it went to Jerry West who averaged nearly 38 points per game in the Finals — the only time the award has gone to a member of the losing team. Russell, though, as the anchor of the Celtics dynasty that won 11 championships in 13 seasons, undoubtedly would have won several Finals MVPs during his career if it had existed earlier. In the near half-century since his retirement, no player has come close to matching his record 11 titles and it seems unlikely anyone ever will, making him the greatest winner in NBA history.

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